Second Quarter 2002 Newsletter (Last Updated On: ) Madrid, April 2002 Board member Agustin Ozamiz attended the NGO World Forum on Ageing on 6-9 April 2002 and the UN Second World Assembly on Ageing on 8-12 April on behalf of WFMH. A resident of Biskaia, Spain, he is the chief of the insurance division in the Health Department of the Basque Region. The following comments are extracted from a longer report he sent to the Federation: The two overlapping meetings in Madrid emphasized the worlds changing demographic situation. For the first time in history we can look forward to more people over the age of 60 than people under the age of 15 years. By the year 2050 one out of five persons will be over 60. The increase in the numbers of older people will be even higher in Asia than in Western countries. The UN Second World Assembly on Ageing, opened by Kofi Annan on 8 April, concentrated on public policy towards such matters as employment, widespread gaps in social security, and the need for a flexible retirement age. The President of the International Labour Organization and the European Unions Commissioner for Social Affairs both spoke about work-related issues. The President of WHO, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, gave a comprehensive speech to the World Assembly about the problems of poverty in developing countries and its impact on the health of the elderly. She said that WHO was adopting a new policy to encourage active ageing, that is, the process of optimizing opportunities of health, participation and security in order to enhance the quality of life of elderly people. NGO Forum Women are a high proportion of the older population, and the problems of an ageing group have many gender aspects. The NGO Forum gave considerable attention to the situation of poor, illiterate and socially deprived older women in developing countries. Violence against elderly women was identified as one of the most important problems. Womens lack of social status and influence handicaps them in efforts at self-help. In poor societies the safety-net of social security and public health care may be very weak or almost non-existent. This was a particular focus of concern at the NGO Forum, where it was said that in South America 50% of old people are poor (15% of them extremely poor), and only 30% have access to care and social insurance. These rates are highest in rural areas. In rural Mexico, for example, only 10% of women have the right to social insurance and health care. Prevention of Health Problems There was some interest in prevention at the meeting. The director of WHOs program on ageing, Alexandre Kalache, said the idea was to promote health through healthy customs, environmental and social conditions, and economic resources. Another WHO speaker said that improving living standards and economic development were keys to prevention. WFMH put forward the view that quality of life is even more important than adding years to life. Knowing that mental health issues often have an impact on the lives of the elderly, and are often neglected, the Federation suggested the development of promotion and prevention strategies focused on mental health (see box). This is a complicated area, often affected by other health problems, but one which certainly deserves inclusion in the overall approach to ageing. Objectives of Proposed Promotion/Prevention Strategies for Coping with Anxiety and Depression in Elderly People To gather relevant information concerning a) the impact of anxiety and depression and related disorders on the public health status of citizens, and b) mental health promotion, prevention, early detection and early management of these problems; To identify and evaluate strategies, programs and models of best practice from different countries; To develop Regional strategies for mental health promotion and preventionbased on the information acquired from different countries and from other sources; To develop and carry out an integrated strategy for communication and dissemination of the aims, mechanisms and outcomes, using appropriate media most likely to a) raise awareness among relevant professionals, policy makers and the general public; and b) encourage effective policy development and implementation within States. The expected results of the program would be a strategy to combat anxiety, depression and related disorders in older people; reports describing the burden on public health; a directory of best practices and selected model programs; and broad dissemination and implementation of the results.