"We thank god we are alive. The illegal armed group came one afternoon and rounded us all up in the main square of the village. I thought: ‘this is it. This is the end'. It is a miracle they...
“In all my life, this has been the first time I have met the authorities in my country.” R merjuste Fremont, 109, Haiti. As the only globally coordinated movement led by older people that enables their voices to be...
Since the year 2000, November has become a special month for Ethiopians around the world. Why? Because of the Great Ethiopian Run. This yearly race brings together thousands of people from Ethiopia and abroad for the same purpose: running...
Over the last two years, citizens across Europe have been exchanging messages with older people in developing countries, making their voices heard and showing solidarity through our "Europe Lead the Way" campaign. The campaign is gaining momentum in Europ
Thursday 1 December is World AIDS Day and this year the HIV community has much to celebrate. We have seen declines in new infections; new and ambitious commitments and targets for the HIV response set by world leaders at...
How often have you heard that ageing isn't a problem in the developing world because "life expectancy is below 50"? This arises from a basic misunderstanding of the meaning of "life expectancy", a misunderstanding which can be responsible for...
I first became aware of the Age Demands Action (ADA) campaign in 2010 when I got in touch with Slovenska Filanthropija (Slovene Philanthropy), the organisation that coordinates the campaign in Slovenia. I will quote a saying I recently came...
As I flew into the vast and expansive Mandera, I felt a world away from Nairobi from where I had departed - a city full of cars and high rise buildings. My arrival coincided with a brief rain shower...
In the last weeks, I've received great insight into older people's knowledge of policies and legislation, having spoken to them about their views of how much governments have done to ensure that the Madrid Plan is implemented. As we...
Despite the cold and cloudy weather, 200 people gathered in front of the State Historical Museum in Bishkek as part of the "Let's take control of diabetes" campaign on 14 November 2011. In Kyrgyzstan, 32,000 people are registered as...
I am currently completing a three month secondment from Age UK to HelpAge International's East Asia Pacific Regional Development Centre in Chiang Mai, and have been very lucky to have had my time here coincide with their annual Social...
Having had time to reflect since my previous blog, I wanted to share some more of experiences from the WHO World Conference on Social Determinants of Health in Rio de Janeiro in October. One is an anedote about a...
