Millennium Development Goal 1:
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

As the number of older people increases worldwide, there is an urgent need to think through what this means for governments and international agencies – what kind of health, welfare or job programmes will be needed in the future?

In the UK we are already rethinking our retirement. In development circles the impact that global ageing will have on economies, communities and family life is breaking news. The figures are alarming. By 2050, one in five people in developing countries will be over 60.

Living on less than US$1 a day

The over-60s form an increasing proportion of the poor in developing countries. Today, around 100 million people over 60 in developing countries live on less than US$1 a day. By 2015, there will be 597 million people – that’s 67% of the world's older people living in regions where resources are already scarce. Many of these will be living in extreme poverty.

And yet, there is limited economic or social data broken down by age and few programmes aimed at reducing poverty in old age. While the Millennium Development Goals have specific targets on children and youth, they are silent on issues of age, ethnicity and disability.  

Older women and men are frequently at the centre of family survival strategies providing childcare or assets in the form of labour, land or pensions.

Are there innovative ways to harness older people’s potential to reduce poverty in old age and break the cycle of chronic poverty being passed down from one generation to the next?

The assignment

Why are older people so invisible in development? Why are they so often discriminated against? This assignment is an opportunity to critically examine these vital issues and investigate new solutions to the challenges posed by global ageing.

Given the same access to resources as other age groups, could older people be the missing link in development, with the potential not only to solve their own problems but also to use their age and experience to revitalise their communities?

Start your research by visiting:

Resources

Out of the shadows

Ageways 69: Intergenerational approaches

Internal links

Research and policy: State of the world's older people

Media centre: Facts and figures

Research and policy: Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing

External links

UNDESA

WHO Ageing and life course

UN Ageing and development press kit

DFID news: Older people around the world unite to demand action on ageing

And visit the case studies listed on the right

More information

For further details about the competition and an online entry form, visit the Guardian website.

For more details about this assignment contact press@helpage.org