This report highlights the urgent need to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and promote healthy ageing through inclusive, equity-driven health policies. As global populations age and NCDs continue to dominate the burden of disease, failing to act risks widening health disparities and undermining sustainable development.
Key Findings
1. NCDs disproportionately affect older people
- Older adults are at the highest risk of NCDs, yet they are often excluded from prevention, diagnosis, and care strategies.
- Health systems are not adequately adapted to manage multi-morbidity and complex care needs of older people.
2. Structural inequalities compound risk and poor outcomes
- Older people face systemic barriers: ageism, poverty, gender inequality, and lack of social protection all affect access to care and health outcomes.
- Marginalised groups, particularly in LMICs, experience compounded discrimination across the life course.
3. Health systems remain disease-centric and age-exclusionary
- Current NCD policies and programmes often exclude older people in data, design, and implementation.
- Most national NCD strategies do not integrate ageing or reflect the needs of older populations.
4. Data gaps and age-disaggregated evidence are a major barrier
- There is a critical lack of age- and sex-disaggregated data in health reporting, limiting effective policy-making.
- Older populations are underrepresented in research, clinical trials, and monitoring systems.
5. Global health commitments are failing older people
- International frameworks recognise ageing but lack accountability mechanisms to ensure action for older people.
- Inclusion of older people remains superficial or tokenistic in many national and global health strategies.
Recommendations
- Center equity and ageing in health policies: Ensure older people are explicitly included in UHC, NCD, and healthy ageing strategies.
- Invest in inclusive, person-centred primary care: Health systems must adapt to provide integrated, lifelong care that reflects the complexity of ageing.
- Generate better data: Prioritise collection and use of age-disaggregated data to inform planning, service delivery, and accountability.
- Confront ageism and intersecting discrimination: Tackle stereotypes and structural barriers to achieve equitable access to health for all.
- Strengthen accountability: Governments and institutions must be held accountable for how they meet the health needs of older adults.
To achieve health for all at all ages, urgent action is needed to integrate ageing and NCDs into health system reform, guided by human rights and equity. Without this, millions of older people will continue to be left behind in the global health agenda.
Read more about NCDs and their impact on older people in this news article.