HelpAge International

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HelpAge International
HelpAge International.png
Founded1983
TypeNon-governmental organization
Location
  • 86 countries
Chair
Arun Maira
Websitewww.helpage.org

HelpAge International is an international NGO that helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination, and overcome poverty, so that they can lead dignified, secure, active and healthy lives.[1]

Five organisations from Canada, Colombia, Kenya, India and the United Kingdom set up HelpAge International in 1983 to provide a network to support older people worldwide.

HelpAge International now has 158 members and works in 86 countries.[2]

HelpAge works for and with older people by: lobbying governments to achieve policy change, undertaking research programmes, and via community projects on the ground. The organisation focuses on issues that affect older people worldwide, such as disaster risk reduction and climate change, rights, health, social protection, HIV and AIDS, and work. HelpAge also works in emergency responses, such as Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, and the Earthquake in Nepal. HelpAge also campaigns around and influences the Post-2015 Development Agenda.[3]

HelpAge's main campaign, Age Demands Action, is a grassroots movement of older and younger activists across the world, who fight for a better and fairer world for older people. HelpAge is a part of other campaigning coalitions, most recently the Action/2015 campaign. Action/2015 All Ages has seen direct support from Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Bolivian Actress Erika Andia. Kenyan singer, Avril, together with John Katana (Them Mushrooms), John Nzenze, Teddy Kalanda Harrison, Dar Mjomba, Judith Bwire, and the Afro-Simba Band, recorded Hoja Zetu especially for the campaign.[4][citation needed]

HelpAge International has offices in London and Brussels plus nine regional centres coordinating their work in Africa, the Caribbean, East Asia, Eastern Europe/Central Asia, European Union, Latin America, London, Middle East, and South Asia.

Global AgeWatch Index[]

HelpAge's flagship product is the Global AgeWatch Index, launched in 2013, which ranks countries by how well their aging populations are faring. It is based on four domains that are key enablers of older people's wellbeing: income, health, capabilities, and enabling environments.[5]

Measuring criteria[]

There are four domains measuring the index. Each domain has more detailed indicators.[6]

  1. Income security
    1. Pension income coverage
    2. Poverty rate in old age
    3. Relative welfare of older people
    4. GNI per capita
  2. Health status
    1. Life expectancy at 60
    2. Healthy life expectancy at 60
    3. Psychological wellbeing
  3. Capability
    1. Employment of older people
    2. Educational status of older people
  4. Enabling environment
    1. Social connections
    2. Physical safety
    3. Civic freedom
    4. Access to public transport

Top 25 Global AgeWatch Index 2015[]

Global AgeWatch Index 2015[6]
Overall rank
and value		 Income security Health status Capability Enabling
environment
Country Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value Rank Value
  Switzerland 1 90.1 27 77.3 2 81.3 2 75.0 1 83.7
 Norway 2 89.3 2 89.4 16 73.5 1 76.3 4 80.1
 Sweden 3 84.4 7 83.5 12 75.2 5 65.6 6 79.4
 Germany 4 84.3 15 80.9 11 75.6 3 68.4 11 78.6
 Canada 5 84.0 10 82.9 4 80.3 10 61.2 9 78.9
 Netherlands 6 83.0 5 85.9 13 74.8 12 59.6 5 79.6
 Iceland 7 81.8 4 86.6 8 78.2 18 54.5 10 78.8
 Japan 8 80.8 33 75.1 1 83.9 7 62.7 21 75.0
 United States of America 9 79.3 29 76.3 25 70.1 4 65.7 17 76.8
 United Kingdom 10 79.2 14 81.5 27 69.3 20 53.6 3 81.8
 Denmark 11 78.6 16 80.9 33 68.1 11 59.9 14 77.7
 New Zealand 12 76.0 23 78.4 9 77.8 14 57.8 30 71.5
 Austria 13 74.4 6 84.3 19 72.7 40 37.6 2 82.7
 Finland 14 72.7 17 80.3 21 70.8 29 44.8 18 76.1
 Ireland 15 72.0 18 79.9 17 73.1 35 40.6 16 77.0
 France 16 71.2 3 88.4 7 78.3 42 35.8 23 74.2
 Australia 17 71.0 62 53.5 5 79.8 8 62.5 26 72.5
 Israel 18 70.1 47 67.8 26 69.8 13 59.2 35 69.6
 Luxembourg 19 69.5 1 89.7 10 76.6 53 31.0 19 76.1
 Panama 20 67.7 40 72.4 31 68.7 16 56.4 48 66.4
 Chile 21 66.3 43 70.8 14 74.4 22 49.5 49 66.0
 Czech Republic 22 65.6 12 81.8 47 56.1 17 56.4 50 65.8
 Estonia 23 64.9 44 70.7 55 50.0 6 64.8 39 68.1
 Belgium 24 63.4 39 73.1 30 68.7 48 32.9 24 73.4
 Spain 25 61.7 37 73.4 3 80.5 78 24.0 22 74.7

References[]

  1. ^ "WHO | World Health Organization". WHO. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  2. ^ "Global Network". HelpAge International. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  3. ^ "AU Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing" (PDF). United Nations.
  4. ^ "Hoja Zetu-various artists". youtube.com. 2015-03-29. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  5. ^ "global-age-index | University of Southampton". www.southampton.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Global AgeWatch Index 2015 Insight report" (PDF). HelpAge International. p. 22.

External links[]

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