International Longevity Centre Global Alliance - Designing the Future of Ageing

28th March 2017

In the context of the third review cycle of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), ILC-Brazil contributed, together with InterAge Consultancy in Gerontology, to a global project on the “Voices of Older People”, led by HelpAge International and UNFPA.

As a contribution to the global review, group discussions with older people from four municipalities of differing levels of human development in Brazil were held during the month of February. Aim was to get a general overview of how well older Brazilians feel their rights are protected and how government policies have an impact on their daily lives.

The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) is now being reviewed for a third time. The guidelines for the review and appraisal process, provided by the United Nations, foresee a bottom-up approach with substantial and very active participation of older persons.

In this context, HelpAge International and UNFPA are leading a global bottom-up review, entitled “Voices of Older Persons”. In 2012, this review was published as part of HelpAge’s flagship report “Ageing in the 21st Century: a celebration and a challenge”. For the third review, ILC-Brazil prepared, together with InterAge Consultancy in Gerontology, the Brazilian contribution.

Given that Brazil is a very large and heterogeneous country, it was impossible to gather a complete picture of older Brazilians’ perceptions of how their rights are being protected. Nonetheless, the results of four group discussions in four different municipalities of different levels of human development provide an overview of the problems encountered by older Brazilians in day-to-day life and their impression of progress, or the lack of it, in terms of public services.

Written by Ina Voelcker, International Longevity Centre Brazil