A five-year-review of the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) took place in February 2008 at the 46th session of the UN Commission for Social Development (CSD). 

The review culminated in a call for more resources and a stronger UN system to realise older people's rights.

Recommendations made by the CSD

• Member states to increase the allocation of funding to the UN Trust Fund for Ageing to enable the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs to aid them in their implementation of MIPAA.
• More international development aid to poverty eradication programmes benefiting older people.
• The UN Secretary-General to strengthen the work of the regional commissions to better support its implementation.
• The UN Secretary-General to develop an implementation framework in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organisations.
• Stronger focal points on ageing.

UN regional commissions

Prior to its 46th session, the CSD mandated UN regional commissions to organise regional conferences. These were intended to present the outcomes of "an open-ended, participatory process that strives to link local and national activities to UN regional and intergovernmental bodies and up to global level of the review and appraisal" of MIPAA.

In the event, country reports presented at these meetings revealed a patchy commitment to reviewing MIPAA.

Progress by region

• The Africa regional report details progress on policy formulation and adoption in a range of countries. But it is not clear what the provisions of the policies are, or whether older people have been engaged in their formulation.
• Reports from Asia and the Pacific indicate some inclusive approaches to policy making, such as client satisfaction surveys and focus group discussions. Most countries in the region have developed policies and are implementing interventions to address the needs of older people.
• The Latin America and Caribbean report highlights the importance of economic security for older people, and the need for action at government and UN level to curb abuse of older people's rights. 
  
  This meeting most closely reflected the priorities identified by older people who took part in the Age Demands Action campaign.
• The Caribbean sub-regional meeting reported advances in the formulation and adoption of national policies to provide for and protect older people. This includes the extension of existing social security coverage by increasing pensions. 
• In Western Asia governments are building the specialist geriatric care skills of medical professionals and seven countries have established national committees on ageing. But there is little progress on formulating national policies. 
• In Europe and North America only 31 of 56 member states submitted country reports on progress of the UN Economic Commission for Europe's implementation strategy.

Overall shortcomings

• The regional reports reflected a disappointingly low adoption of the participatory approach to monitor the implementation of MIPAA.
• The reports contain no concrete plans to implement the proposed policies or to provide any dedicated resources to pay for them.
• Very few formal government responses were developed in conjunction with older people, although the Age Demands Action campaign demonstrated that older people are willing to engage in policy processes.

Recommendations for the next five-year cycle

To ensure that policies on ageing are responsive to older people's needs and rights, and that they receive the political and financial backing they require, HelpAge International recommends:

• A monitoring process that is transparent and participatory, with contributions form NGOs and older people, and based on meaningful indicators.
• Renewed support for older people and their governments to engage in a bottom-up approach.
• Country commitments to provide resources for data-gathering disaggregated by age and sex, relevant research on ageing, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and promoting best practice.