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Welcome to
the ESCAP homepage of the International Year of Older Persons, 1999 (IYOP)
The primary objective of this homepage is to generate awareness
of ageing-related issues and promote the observance of the International
Year of Older Persons (1999) in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to the United Nations
projections, by the year 2025, 14.4 per cent of the region's total population
will be 60 years or older, and the region will be home to 56 per cent of
the world’s older persons. This rapid ageing of societies in Asia and the
Pacific has triggered concern for the well-being of older persons.
The International Plan of Action
on Ageing (IPAA), adopted by the United Nations in 1982 in resolution
37/51, was the first international consensus document on the subject
of ageing. It recommended that international action focus on a wide
range of areas concerning ageing.
On the tenth anniversary of the
adoption of the IPAA, in 1992, the United Nations adopted the Proclamation
on Ageing and decided to observe the year 1999 as the International Year
of Older Persons with the theme "Towards a Society for All Ages". At
the regional level, governments in the Asian and Pacific region adopted the
Macau Plan of Action on Ageing for Asia and the Pacific on 1 October 1998. The
Macau Plan has been the first and thus far the only regional plan of action on
ageing, making Asia and the Pacific a pioneer in this area. The Macau Plan
covers major areas of concern and recommends action for the betterment of the
lives of older persons.
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