The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared global plan to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. It includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which must be implemented by each and every country in the world.
The guide “
Ageing and the SDGs – Six steps to older people`s inclusion” supports HelpAge network members and staff in using Agenda 2030 to advance older people’s rights and inclusion. It sets out six key steps for integrating ageing and age-inclusive policies into national implementation of Agenda 2030, from understanding existing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) implementation, to mapping key advocacy stakeholders and identifying the main influencing opportunities in the SDG process.
In addition, the
flyer and
key messages document on Ageing and the SDGs explain how global development must meet older people’s needs and rights if it is to be sustainable and provides key arguments to make this case with policy makers.
Older people’s inclusion in the SDGs is essential to leave no one behind
At the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a promise to ‘leave no one behind’ and to reach the furthest behind first. This entails ensuring that every individual, including every older person, is included in development efforts.
Population ageing is one of the most significant dimensions of global demographic change, yet older people continue to face discrimination and exclusion as a result of their age, gender, disability or other characteristics. Societies must adapt their policies and services to respond to the changing age structure of their populations if they are to deliver the promises of the SDGs.
Our involvement in the SDGs
We engage with SDG process at the national, regional and global level to ensure they are met for people of all ages.
SDG Pilot Programme
A core part of our approach is a two-year SDGs Pilot Programme focused on eight priority countries where we provide support to partners to influence national planning and implementation of the SDGs. We want to ensure ageing and older people are included in development thinking, policies and programmes.
The programme covers all regions, including HelpAge country offices in Jordan, Kenya and Pakistan and network members in Cambodia, Costa Rica, the Gambia and Rwanda.
The Stakeholder Group on Ageing
HelpAge co-chairs the
Stakeholder Group on Ageing (SGA) – a strong and effective advocacy partnership that brings together global and national networks of organisations concerned with issues of ageing.
The SGA is a member of the UN’s Major Groups and Other Stakeholders mechanism, which coordinates global civil society engagement with the UN system around SDG implementation. The membership of the SGA is open to all organisations working in the field of ageing at global, regional and national levels.
In December 2019, colleagues from AGECO, HelpAge’s Costa Rican network member, and staff from the HelpAge Regional Office in EME, represented the SGA at a civil society workshop for countries submitting Voluntary National Reviews in 2020. Find more about the meetings and its outcomes.
