46th Session of the Commission for Social
Development
By: Abdoulie Janneh
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and
Executive Secretary of the UN Economic
Commission for Africa
8 February 2008
Overview of the Presentation
 Background
 Major Findings & Achievements
 Challenges
 Future Priorities
 Regional & International Cooperation
 ECA Role
Background
 Africa is facing the challenge of rapid ageing while it
simultaneously strives to achieve economic and social
development
 Though the population is young, older persons aged
60 or more in Africa are growing very rapidly:





31.6
50.5
64.5
103
205
million in 1990
million in 2007
million in 2015
million in 2030
million in 2050
Background
 Older persons will grow at annual rate of 3.1 % between
2007 and 2015, and 3.3% between 2015 and 2050; faster than
the growth rate of the general population.
 The population is ageing more rapidly in Northern Africa,
where older people as a percentage of the total population
are expected to increase from 7% in 2007 to 12% by 2030
and 19.6% in 2050.
 At the country level, population ageing is rapid in
Mauritius, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Libya.
These are followed by Gabon, Djibouti, Cape Verde,
Gambia, Ghana, Mauritania, Togo and Senegal.
Background
 In Sub-Saharan Africa population ageing has been
impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, poor health
conditions and poverty; which affect the quality of
life of millions of people including the elderly.
 Everywhere in the continent the number of older
women aged 60 and more exceed older men; primarily
because women survive longer than men.
 The great majority of older persons in Africa live in
rural areas where social infrastructure is scanty.
Background
 Rapid growth of older persons implies the need to urgently
take action to address older persons issues, particularly in
context of inclusive, human-centered and socially
sustainable development.
 Social development requires not only economic growth,
but also social justice, social inclusion and social cohesion,
as echoed in the Copenhagen Summit in 1994.
 Economic
policies must be matched with social
development policies and actions for an inclusive
development process.
Background
 Recognizing the global call for ageing, Africa has two policy
instruments to guide and support actions ate the national
and regional levels:  The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA)
 African Union Policy Framework and Plan of Action on
Ageing.
 These policy instruments are complementary and they
recommend common actions and goals for improving wellbeing of older people in Africa
Findings and Major Achievements
 National level responses to MIPAA across Africa to date have
been uneven, with varying levels of mainstreaming and policy
development within countries.
 African governments generally acknowledge the challenge of
population ageing. The Great majority of countries affirmed that
ageing is a development challenge, and some of them included
ageing in their national social development policies.
 However, the degree of engagement is influenced by country-
specific ageing circumstances, competing priorities for
budgetary allocation and the capacity of institutions to respond
effectively.
Findings and Major Achievements
 Concerted efforts have been made to formulate and adopt
national policies on older persons, and to mainstream and
integrate ageing issues in sectoral polices and development
programmes.
 Social protection received more attention, as some
countries have introduced or expanded their social security
programs
 However, formal social security coverage is limited to civil
servants and formal sector employees. The vast majority of
older persons across Africa involved in agriculture and
informal sector activities rely on informal social security.
Findings and Major Achievements
 Informal systems of social protection in the form of cash and
kind from both family and community sources have suffered a
decline in recent decades because of declining extended family
system and rapid urbanization.
 There is general lack of specialist services and personnel to meet
the health needs of older people. The special care and health
needs of older persons have been compromised by rapid spread
of HIV/AIDS in the continent
 Though the number of older people living with HIV/AIDS is
increasing, they remain excluded from routine surveillance
programs. Very little prevention, education and treatment
services targeted older persons
Major Challenges
 Low level of implementation of the MIPAA and the African
Union Framework, and of the appraisal and review of these
policy instruments.
 Low level of understanding and awareness of the link
between population ageing and the development agendas
is low. There is need for advocacy to promote political will
and support for ageing and development.
 The major challenge for the social security programs is to
scale up the coverage and to address the issue of social
exclusion.
Major Challenges
 Most of the countries need to improve their health systems,
and to reorient health care and personnel towards meeting
the needs of rapidly increasing numbers of older persons
 Lack of data, information and policy research in most of
the countries. Evidence-based research is needed to guide
the formulation of policy and justify bids for budgetary
allocation
 Lack of participatory dialogue and decision-making
processes involving all stakeholders, including older
people, to improve the relevance of policies and plans
Major Challenges
 Inadequate cooperation and coordination between
public and private sectors and civil society
organisations to strengthen and scale-up effective
interventions.
 Capacity limitations and constraints to in the public
institutions and civil sector
implement plans effectively
organizations
to
Future Priorities
 Scale up regional and country review and appraisal of the MIPAA
and African Union Policy framework.
 National governments to support the implementation of
policies and plans on ageing by allocating specific budgets
for older people’s concerns
 Governments to introduce mechanisms for all key
stakeholders including older people, the full range of civil
society organisations and the private sector, to engage in
dialogue with the public sector to inform decision-making.
 Governments to enhance the scope for cross-sectoral
cooperation and support between the public and private
sectors and civil society to address older people’s concerns.
Future Priorities
 Strengthen
institutional and human capacities
managing the multiple challenges of ageing.
for
 Integrate ageing concerns in development plans and
strategies, particularly poverty reduction strategies, and
strategies for the development of health systems.
 Support research on ageing and development in Africa,
particularly in areas such as the impacts of climate change
on the livelihood of people, especially in rural areas,
continuing education, training and literacy, provision of
housing and water and improvement of sanitation and
health.
Regional and International
Cooperation
 Future
priority activities will be undertaken in close
collaboration with UNDESA, in partnership with the African
Governments, the African Union and its NEPAD program, and
the African Development Bank.
 Funding support from the international community is required
to strengthen country level research into:-
 social security system options,
 potential linkages and synergy between formal and informal
sector interventions. Technical support and funding are needed
to strengthen institutional and human capacities.
 International and regional cooperation are needed to raise and
awareness and understanding of the significance of ageing issues
and the pressing need to engage in MIPAA action on ageing at
national level.
Regional and International
Cooperation
 International cooperation is needed to support the countries’
engagement in the MIPAA review processes including : training activities on organizing and coordinating bottom-up
nationwide review and appraisal and
 regional review and appraisal events (meetings/conferences)
to evaluate the national experience and identify future
priorities for implementation.
 There is need for international cooperation to support the
exchange of knowledge and experience between countries and
regions, particularly in the sustainability of social security
systems.
ECA ROLE
 Apart from debating and conducting research on ageing and
development in Africa, the UNEA will: Continue to help countries to formulate and implement
policies and program on ageing and development in the
continent
 Identify areas where less progress has been made, document
best practices and lessons of experience, and share knowledge
with regional and like-minded institutions
 Establish knowledge-sharing and learning network on ageing
and development.
 Identify national focal persons on ageing, undertake regional
training programs on the implementation of the MIPAA, and
organize expert group meetings to validate research results.
THANK YOU !
More information is available in ECA regional report:
The State of Older People in Africa
Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the
MIPAA
www.uneca.org