International commitments to protect the rights of older people

Older women and men have the same right to HIV prevention, care and treatment services as people of other ages.

Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing

159 governments made commitments to older people affected by HIV and AIDS when they signed the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. Older people are recognised as individuals susceptible to HIV infection and in their role of carers of people living with HIV and of vulnerable children.

MIPAA calls for the following actions:

Support to older carers

• Pay special attention to older carers of people living with HIV and AIDS, including the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data on the health status and needs of older carers.
• Provide training to older caregivers to help them to provide effective care while minimising the possible negative impact on their own health and wellbeing.
• Review the economic impact of HIV and AIDS on older persons, particularly in their role as caregivers, as agreed in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (UN 2001).
• Introduce policies to provide in-kind support, healthcare and loans to older caregivers to assist them in meeting the needs of children and grandchildren in accordance with the Millennium Declaration (UN Millennium Development Goals).
• Recognise and accommodate the caring responsibilities of older family members, people with disabilities and people with chronic illnesses, including HIV and AIDS, by developing family-friendly and gender-sensitive policies aimed at reconciling work and caregiving responsibilities.

HIV prevention for older people

• Revise, as appropriate, public health and prevention strategies to reflect local epidemiology. Information on prevention and risks of HIV for the general population should meet the needs of older persons.

HIV treatment and care for older people living with HIV

• Ensure that AIDS treatment and support strategies recognise the needs of HIV-positive older people.

End exclusive HIV data collection

• Ensure and expand the compilation of HIV and AIDS data to allow for assessment of the extent of HIV infection in older people.

Multisectoral response

• Foster collaboration between governmental agencies and nongovernmental organisations that work with children, youth and older persons on HIV/AIDS issues.

Further research and action

• Encourage the elaboration of studies to better understand and highlight the contribution of older people to social and economic development in all countries, in particular those countries severely affected by HIV, and disseminate the findings as widely as possible.

Age Demands Action: MIPAA follow up

Older people in 25 countries met with governments on 1 October, UN International Day of Older Persons, as part of Age Demands Action, the first ever globally coordinated activity by older people to press for change.

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HIV and Social Protection

Livingstone Call for Action

This Africa Union call for action on social protection recognises the role that social protection can play in mitigating the impacts of HIV and AIDS.

It notes "the provision of transfers increases human capital by helping people to keep healthy, educate their children, and support HIV/AIDS affected families."

The statement calls for:

Social transfer programmes

• Social transfer programmes, including the social pension and social transfers to vulnerable children, older persons and people with disabilities and their households, to be a more utilised policy option in African countries.

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