Published
From 4–6 November, HelpAge International and the HelpAge global network will be in Doha, Qatar at the Second World Summit for Social Development to make one simple point: social development will only succeed when older people are fully included.
We will speak at and co-host sessions with allies across the UN system and civil society to turn commitments into action.
HelpAge is leading a solutions session alongside the International Labour Organization (ILO) and USP2030 that moves beyond debate to delivery. We will bring governments, UN agencies and civil society together to focus on what it takes to reach universal social protection in countries where populations are ageing fast.
The session will shine a light on real-world reforms – from tax-financed social pensions to access to health and long-term care – and the practical steps each actor can take next. Speakers include leaders from the ILO, Development Pathways, HelpAge International and HelpAge Tanzania, alongside government representatives.
Our message is clear: Advancing universal social protection across the life course is essential to dignity, income security and wellbeing for older people in later life. Today, one in five older people still receive no pension; we aim to shift that reality by sharing evidence, policy options and lessons from countries that are already acting.
We are collaborating with UNFPA, UN Women and Member States on a high-level session that puts older women – too often invisible – at the centre of policy solutions. The event will highlight how gender gaps across education, work, pay and care compound over a lifetime and show up as poverty, poor health and exclusion in older age. It will present practical measures on inclusion, income security, care and participation, and end with concrete calls to action for governments and partners. HelpAge will contribute civil society evidence and lived experience to ensure older women’s voices shape the agenda.
With UN Women and the governments of El Salvador and Morocco, we will help make the case for closing gender gaps at every life stage – linking decent work, fair pay and social protection to resilience in later life.
This event spotlights solutions that expand women’s economic opportunities, reduce the burden of unpaid care, and build gender responsive social protection mechanisms, including pensions and healthcare. HelpAge will show how a life-course approach pays off in older age, and how investments in jobs and gender-responsive social protection reduce poverty for older women.
We are joining AARP and the governments of Thailand, Germany and Spain to showcase how national and city-level action plans on ageing can turn demographic change into social and economic progress. The session will unveil new global and regional dashboards that help policymakers compare action plans, spot gaps and learn from peers. HelpAge will stress the importance of co-design with older people and civil society to ensure policies are inclusive, funded and implemented.
With WHO and ILO, UNFPA, and International Federation on Ageing, we will champion home and community-based care that helps older people remain in their homes and neighbourhoods while creating quality jobs in the care economy. The session will share proven models from several countries and set out practical design choices – skilled workers, clear standards, fair funding and smart tools – that make these services work at scale. We will support the launch of an interim global synthesis on what works and help shape a Doha home- and community-based care action note and network, paving the way for pilots in the host country and a joint technical brief in 2026–27. Our aim is simple: build practical, people-centred care systems that strengthen social inclusion and reduce poverty in later life.
With Age Knowble and HelpAge global network members GRAVIS, Ageing Nepal and Association of Ghana’s Elders, we will take part in a solutions-focused session that showcases practical ways to make systems work for older people – better data to see who is being left out, user insight to shape services, and age-friendly design that improves everyday life. The event brings examples from different countries and sectors, with a focus on what scales, what it costs, and how public, private and civil society actors can collaborate. The aim is to move from analysis to action with shared measures of progress and grounded lessons that governments and cities can use now.
Success means ageing is no longer an afterthought. It means member states recognise demographic shifts, the lived realities of older people and commit to universal social protection, inclusive care systems and decent work across the life course. It means older women are visible – in data, policies and budgets. And it means governments use practical tools, like action plans on ageing, to deliver – working with UN agencies, funders and civil society.
We invite governments, donors and allies to join us in three commitments:
Doha is a chance to reset the conversation. With practical solutions and shared resolve, we can build societies where everyone at every age can live, work and thrive.
HelpAge International and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) have launched a new Inter-Agency Policy Brief that highlights how the active participation of older people can strengthen efforts to achieve the SDGs at local levels.
