Missing data 'renders millions of older people invisible'

HELPAGE INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     
PEG: 20 – 22 April 2015, HelpAge International at Cartagena Data Festival

Opthalmic work

Image by HelpAge International

HelpAge International is calling on data specialists to explore the implications of global ageing and the missing data making millions of older people invisible.

“Data gaps at the national, regional and international level reinforce the exclusion and discrimination felt by older people, failing to build on the experience and needs of this growing group,” said Jane Scobie, Director of Advocacy and Communications at HelpAge International.

“For instance, monitoring and reporting on HIV and AIDs focuses on people aged 15-49, yet 14% of people in Africa living with HIV are over 50. The proportion is around 50% for the US.^[1] Data sets should be disaggregated by age and gender, from birth to 100, in five year intervals,” she said.

Lack of data on older people means governments and policy makers are unaware of the challenges facing this group and the best ways to support ageing populations. For example, little is known about whether older people have equal access to anti-retroviral therapies for HIV.

“Population ageing is happening in all regions of the world but by 2030, when the Sustainable Development goals come to an end, there will be more people aged 60 and over than children under 10,^[2]” said Scobie.

“Future goals cannot be considered sustainable unless they count people of all ages,” said Scobie.

“Despite the mention of ‘All Ages’ in the goals there are currently limited mechanisms to monitor progress on older people,” she said.

By 2050, 21% of the global population will be aged 60 and older.^[3]

HelpAge International will host two panel discussions at Cartagena, chaired by representatives from CIVICUS and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The first panel will review the progress on data relating to older people and areas of good practice, including HelpAge International’s Global AgeWatch Index.

 
The Global AgeWatch Index is a tool to measure the social and economic wellbeing of older people, the only Index of its kind. It highlights the challenges in collecting age-disaggregated data. Only 11 countries in Africa are included in the 96 country Index due to data gaps.

“Our ultimate aim is to include all 193 UN member States but for this we need data collection systems to be fit for purpose,” said Scobie.

The second discussion by HelpAge will focus on engaging citizens to generate data and to put this in the hands of those who can bring about change. The panel will consider the possibilities of local data collection, including older citizen monitoring data, which can enrich existing national statistics. 

Organisers of Cartagena believe that currently the world knows ‘the least about the people who have the least’. The festival will go some way to tackling this barrier to development.

“Lack of data will hinder the creation of policies for older people and the future generations of over 60s unless we ensure older people count now,” said Scobie.

You can follow the conversations on the day and throughout the festival with #data2015 and #CartagenaDataFest

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Notes 

Cartagena Data Festival
A three day event in Colombia organised by ODI, Africa Gathering, CEPEI, Data-Pop Alliance, PARIS21, UNDP and UNFPA. The event will bring together 300 participants from across the world to focus on solving gaps in coverage, access and analysis of data, thereby contributing to the global effort in the post-2015 agenda.
http://www.cartagenadatafest2015.org/ 

The Global AgeWatch Index
The Global AgeWatch Index ranks 96 countries in the world on the social and economic wellbeing of older people. The Index has been developed and constructed by HelpAge International from international data sets drawn from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the World Bank, World Health Organization, International Labour Organization, UNESCO and the Gallup World Poll.
http://www.helpage.org/global-agewatch/

About HelpAge International

The HelpAge network is a unique worldwide alliance of over 100 organisations in 65 countries.

HelpAge International helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination and overcome poverty, so that they can lead dignified, secure, active and healthy lives.

For more information please visit www.helpage.org