HelpAge International
Response to the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals Co-chairs
Working Document for 5-9 May session of the Open Working Group
April 2014
The SDGs must reflect the reality of the world as we find it; respond to the fact that the world
is ageing; and ensure opportunities for increased longevity
The framework must be grounded in human rights principles including universality, nondiscrimination,
equality, participation, empowerment and accountability
We welcome the move towards universality, a step towards a society of all ages for all ages.
Alongside the inclusion of universal goals and targets, we must find the specificity that
articulates how goals and targets will be delivered for all people, including in older age
The success of the framework to ‘leave no one behind’ will be based on how goals and targets
are monitored. Indicators must require collection of data for all people of all ages, with data
disaggregated by sex and age
We congratulate the co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) for their Working Document, their move towards a universal approach in line with the
commitment to ‘leave no-one behind’, and their efforts in compiling universal targets. The goals and
targets in the Working Document provide an important basis for continued discussion.
While we welcome the move towards universality, more must be done to ensure that goals and
targets are truly universal. We must find the specificity that articulates how goals and targets will be
delivered for all people, including in older age, and how specific issues can be recognised and
addressed throughout the SDGs. To this end, we welcome the language ‘for all people’. We strongly
recommend strengthening this language further to be inclusive of ‘people of all ages’. A good
example of this is the goal of the provision of quality education and life-long learning for all, which
would be strengthened by the addition of people of all ages.
We urge Member States to adopt the wording ‘all people of all ages’ wherever possible in the goals
and targets. This will help to ensure that all people, irrespective of their age, are included, and
enables the framework to recognise the specific issues resulting from population ageing, and the
challenges faced by people in older age. One of the most urgent concerns of people in older age is
income security.1 For this reason we continue to support the call for the elevation of social
protection to the goal level.
In order to achieve a framework that is inclusive of people of all ages, indicators must require the
collection and analysis of data for all people of all ages, with data disaggregated by sex and age, at a
minimum, with additional disaggregation as appropriate. They must be supported by clear reporting
requirements and guidelines and strengthened, more inclusive data collection mechanisms. A range
of indicators will be needed, including structural and process indicators that capture laws,
legislation, social norms and behaviour, alongside numerical outcomes.
1 UNFPA and HelpAge International 2012 Ageing in the 21st Century: a celebration and a challenge
Recommendations
Focus Area 1: Poverty eradication, building shared prosperity and promoting equality
Target ‘b’: amend to: ‘reduce the proportion of people of all ages living below national poverty lines
by 2030’
Target ‘c’: replace with: ‘By 2030, implement nationally appropriate universal social protection floors
ensuring coverage of the most marginalised.’
Rationale:
In support of a universal approach, the Recommendation Concerning National Floors of Social
Protection was adopted at the 101st session of the International Labour Conference and emphasises
the “universality of protection” as a key principle in terms of the responsibility of the State. The
2012 Rio+20 resolution2 states “the need to provide social protection to all members of society,
fostering growth, resilience, social justice and cohesion, including those who are employed in the
informal economy. We strongly encourage providing social protection floors for all citizens.” In
2010, the important omission of social protection was acknowledged in the outcome document from
the UN MDG Summit, which stated that progress towards the MDGs could be accelerated by
“Promoting universal access to public and social services and providing social protection floors”.
With equality positioned under Focus Area 1 in the Working Document, a clear target on universal
social protection systems is critical as its redistributive role contributes significantly to reducing
inequalities. While universal social protection systems directly address income poverty, they also
have major impacts on other aspects of human development, including food security, education and
health, and will therefore support the achievement of targets in other Focus Areas.
Poverty in all its forms can only be truly eradicated if all people, irrespective of age are reached with
poverty eradication interventions and strategies. A core strategy is the implementation of universal
social protection systems, which build resilience and prevent people from falling into poverty. A
residual approach with particular emphasis on the poorest and most vulnerable will only result in
limited progress towards this goal. Any targets on social protection must therefore be universal in
nature. The implementation of nationally-defined basic social protection floors is not optional but
essential in all countries. In line with a human rights based approach, we recognise the need to
agree steps towards the progressive realisation of targets, with an initial focus on the most
marginalised. The goals and targets to be achieved by 2030 must, however, be universal.
Focus Area 3: Health and population dynamics
Goal: we strongly support the goal of ‘healthy life at all ages for all’
Target ‘c’: amend to: ‘reduce by x% the risk of avoidable/ preventable mortality from noncommunicable
diseases (NCDs), injuries and promote mental health, with a strong focus on
prevention for all people of all ages’
Target ‘d’: amend this target to: ‘achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), including financial risk
protection, for all people of all ages’
2 ‘The Future We Want’ UNGA A/RES/66/288 Para 156
Additional target ‘i’: include the additional target: by 2030 increase by x years healthy life
expectancy at birth and at age 60
Rationale:
Significant improvements have been made in health outcomes as demonstrated by the progress
towards achieving the health related MDGs. A success of health sector improvements is the trend of
population ageing, with most rapid gains being made in the developing world. While global
population ageing is in part an outcome of progress in the health sector, it also presents a major
challenge and the need for health systems that support ageing populations. A universal goal of
healthy life at all ages for all recognises this reality.
Universal health coverage should be the instrument to achieving the goal. As defined by the WHO,
UHC should include both coverage of health services and financial risk and targets are needed that
measure both aspects. While we welcome the inclusion of target ‘d’ we disagree with the focus on
the most marginalised and the potential inclusion of any target or indicator focused on access for 80
per cent of the poorest 40 per cent of the population as a proxy for universal coverage. As with
social protection, while we recognise the need to agree steps towards the progressive realisation of
targets, goals and targets to be achieved by 2030 must be universal.
Targets should also focus on the unfinished business of the health MDGs and incorporate emerging
health issues related to population ageing, including the rise in prevalence of, and morbidity and
mortality due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). People aged 60 and over account for 75 per
cent of deaths from NCDs in LMICs.3 We welcome the inclusion of a target on NCDs but disagree
with setting a target on ‘premature mortality’ defined by an arbitrary chronological age. This would
institutionalise age discrimination in the delivery of health outcomes.
Given the global trend of population ageing, with people aged 60 and over projected to constitute
16 per cent of the total worldwide population by 20304, the framework must include a target that
addresses not only this increasing longevity, but also the quality of life of people as they age. We
therefore recommend the addition of a target on increasing healthy life expectancy at birth and 60.5
Focus Area 5: Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Goal: amend to: ‘attain gender equality and empowerment of women of all ages everywhere’
Target ‘j’: amend to: ‘promote the availability of gender and age disaggregated data to improve
gender equality policies, including gender sensitive budgeting.’
Rationale:
We welcome the commitment to a goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Today,
women over 49 make up over 20 per cent of women in the world, and that number is projected to
rise.6 Despite a growing body of evidence on discrimination affecting women in older age, the
3 United Nations, Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases: Report of the Secretary-General, 2011 4 UNDESA Population Division, Population Ageing and Development, World Population Prospects: the 2012 Revision, 2013
5 Measured by the World Health Organisation
6 http://esa.un.org/wpp/Excel-
Data/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2012_POP_F09_3_PERCENTAGE_OF_TOTAL_POPULATION_BY_BROAD_AGE_GROUP
_FEMALE.XLS
challenges they face are almost entirely absent from the debate on the achievement of the MDGs
for women and girls. Neither the extraordinary resilience of older women, nor the discriminatory
laws, policies and social norms which reinforce the poverty and exclusion many experience in older
age are being addressed in the post 2015 dialogue.
Women in older age experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. Gender-based
and other intersecting inequality can accumulate over a life time and be exacerbated in older age.
This can have devastating effects for women in older age unless specifically addressed. The post-
2015 framework must, therefore, tackle gender inequality in all its dimensions. Through the explicit
recognition of an approach for women of all ages and a clear commitment to the disaggregation of
data by sex and age across all targets, the framework must recognise that gender inequality affects
women at every stage of their lives, including in older age.
Focus area 8: Economic growth, employment and infrastructure
Target ‘b’: amend to: achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all people of all
ages who seek employment including for marginalised groups by 2030
Additional target k: By 2030 older workers are provided access to education or vocational training,
re-skilling or other means to maintain their employability.
Rationale:
Proposed additional target ‘k’ seeks to achieve the MIPAA Objective of “Equality of opportunity
throughout life with respect to continuing education, training and retraining as well as vocational
guidance and placement services.”7 It is supportive of target 8 b, which we recommend maintaining
with the minor addition of ‘people of all ages’. Achieving these targets will improve universal access
to decent work.
7 United Nations 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing Para 40
Working Document for 5-9 May session of the Open Working Group
April 2014
The SDGs must reflect the reality of the world as we find it; respond to the fact that the world
is ageing; and ensure opportunities for increased longevity
The framework must be grounded in human rights principles including universality, nondiscrimination,
equality, participation, empowerment and accountability
We welcome the move towards universality, a step towards a society of all ages for all ages.
Alongside the inclusion of universal goals and targets, we must find the specificity that
articulates how goals and targets will be delivered for all people, including in older age
The success of the framework to ‘leave no one behind’ will be based on how goals and targets
are monitored. Indicators must require collection of data for all people of all ages, with data
disaggregated by sex and age
We congratulate the co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) for their Working Document, their move towards a universal approach in line with the
commitment to ‘leave no-one behind’, and their efforts in compiling universal targets. The goals and
targets in the Working Document provide an important basis for continued discussion.
While we welcome the move towards universality, more must be done to ensure that goals and
targets are truly universal. We must find the specificity that articulates how goals and targets will be
delivered for all people, including in older age, and how specific issues can be recognised and
addressed throughout the SDGs. To this end, we welcome the language ‘for all people’. We strongly
recommend strengthening this language further to be inclusive of ‘people of all ages’. A good
example of this is the goal of the provision of quality education and life-long learning for all, which
would be strengthened by the addition of people of all ages.
We urge Member States to adopt the wording ‘all people of all ages’ wherever possible in the goals
and targets. This will help to ensure that all people, irrespective of their age, are included, and
enables the framework to recognise the specific issues resulting from population ageing, and the
challenges faced by people in older age. One of the most urgent concerns of people in older age is
income security.1 For this reason we continue to support the call for the elevation of social
protection to the goal level.
In order to achieve a framework that is inclusive of people of all ages, indicators must require the
collection and analysis of data for all people of all ages, with data disaggregated by sex and age, at a
minimum, with additional disaggregation as appropriate. They must be supported by clear reporting
requirements and guidelines and strengthened, more inclusive data collection mechanisms. A range
of indicators will be needed, including structural and process indicators that capture laws,
legislation, social norms and behaviour, alongside numerical outcomes.
1 UNFPA and HelpAge International 2012 Ageing in the 21st Century: a celebration and a challenge
Recommendations
Focus Area 1: Poverty eradication, building shared prosperity and promoting equality
Target ‘b’: amend to: ‘reduce the proportion of people of all ages living below national poverty lines
by 2030’
Target ‘c’: replace with: ‘By 2030, implement nationally appropriate universal social protection floors
ensuring coverage of the most marginalised.’
Rationale:
In support of a universal approach, the Recommendation Concerning National Floors of Social
Protection was adopted at the 101st session of the International Labour Conference and emphasises
the “universality of protection” as a key principle in terms of the responsibility of the State. The
2012 Rio+20 resolution2 states “the need to provide social protection to all members of society,
fostering growth, resilience, social justice and cohesion, including those who are employed in the
informal economy. We strongly encourage providing social protection floors for all citizens.” In
2010, the important omission of social protection was acknowledged in the outcome document from
the UN MDG Summit, which stated that progress towards the MDGs could be accelerated by
“Promoting universal access to public and social services and providing social protection floors”.
With equality positioned under Focus Area 1 in the Working Document, a clear target on universal
social protection systems is critical as its redistributive role contributes significantly to reducing
inequalities. While universal social protection systems directly address income poverty, they also
have major impacts on other aspects of human development, including food security, education and
health, and will therefore support the achievement of targets in other Focus Areas.
Poverty in all its forms can only be truly eradicated if all people, irrespective of age are reached with
poverty eradication interventions and strategies. A core strategy is the implementation of universal
social protection systems, which build resilience and prevent people from falling into poverty. A
residual approach with particular emphasis on the poorest and most vulnerable will only result in
limited progress towards this goal. Any targets on social protection must therefore be universal in
nature. The implementation of nationally-defined basic social protection floors is not optional but
essential in all countries. In line with a human rights based approach, we recognise the need to
agree steps towards the progressive realisation of targets, with an initial focus on the most
marginalised. The goals and targets to be achieved by 2030 must, however, be universal.
Focus Area 3: Health and population dynamics
Goal: we strongly support the goal of ‘healthy life at all ages for all’
Target ‘c’: amend to: ‘reduce by x% the risk of avoidable/ preventable mortality from noncommunicable
diseases (NCDs), injuries and promote mental health, with a strong focus on
prevention for all people of all ages’
Target ‘d’: amend this target to: ‘achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), including financial risk
protection, for all people of all ages’
2 ‘The Future We Want’ UNGA A/RES/66/288 Para 156
Additional target ‘i’: include the additional target: by 2030 increase by x years healthy life
expectancy at birth and at age 60
Rationale:
Significant improvements have been made in health outcomes as demonstrated by the progress
towards achieving the health related MDGs. A success of health sector improvements is the trend of
population ageing, with most rapid gains being made in the developing world. While global
population ageing is in part an outcome of progress in the health sector, it also presents a major
challenge and the need for health systems that support ageing populations. A universal goal of
healthy life at all ages for all recognises this reality.
Universal health coverage should be the instrument to achieving the goal. As defined by the WHO,
UHC should include both coverage of health services and financial risk and targets are needed that
measure both aspects. While we welcome the inclusion of target ‘d’ we disagree with the focus on
the most marginalised and the potential inclusion of any target or indicator focused on access for 80
per cent of the poorest 40 per cent of the population as a proxy for universal coverage. As with
social protection, while we recognise the need to agree steps towards the progressive realisation of
targets, goals and targets to be achieved by 2030 must be universal.
Targets should also focus on the unfinished business of the health MDGs and incorporate emerging
health issues related to population ageing, including the rise in prevalence of, and morbidity and
mortality due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). People aged 60 and over account for 75 per
cent of deaths from NCDs in LMICs.3 We welcome the inclusion of a target on NCDs but disagree
with setting a target on ‘premature mortality’ defined by an arbitrary chronological age. This would
institutionalise age discrimination in the delivery of health outcomes.
Given the global trend of population ageing, with people aged 60 and over projected to constitute
16 per cent of the total worldwide population by 20304, the framework must include a target that
addresses not only this increasing longevity, but also the quality of life of people as they age. We
therefore recommend the addition of a target on increasing healthy life expectancy at birth and 60.5
Focus Area 5: Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Goal: amend to: ‘attain gender equality and empowerment of women of all ages everywhere’
Target ‘j’: amend to: ‘promote the availability of gender and age disaggregated data to improve
gender equality policies, including gender sensitive budgeting.’
Rationale:
We welcome the commitment to a goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Today,
women over 49 make up over 20 per cent of women in the world, and that number is projected to
rise.6 Despite a growing body of evidence on discrimination affecting women in older age, the
3 United Nations, Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases: Report of the Secretary-General, 2011 4 UNDESA Population Division, Population Ageing and Development, World Population Prospects: the 2012 Revision, 2013
5 Measured by the World Health Organisation
6 http://esa.un.org/wpp/Excel-
Data/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2012_POP_F09_3_PERCENTAGE_OF_TOTAL_POPULATION_BY_BROAD_AGE_GROUP
_FEMALE.XLS
challenges they face are almost entirely absent from the debate on the achievement of the MDGs
for women and girls. Neither the extraordinary resilience of older women, nor the discriminatory
laws, policies and social norms which reinforce the poverty and exclusion many experience in older
age are being addressed in the post 2015 dialogue.
Women in older age experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. Gender-based
and other intersecting inequality can accumulate over a life time and be exacerbated in older age.
This can have devastating effects for women in older age unless specifically addressed. The post-
2015 framework must, therefore, tackle gender inequality in all its dimensions. Through the explicit
recognition of an approach for women of all ages and a clear commitment to the disaggregation of
data by sex and age across all targets, the framework must recognise that gender inequality affects
women at every stage of their lives, including in older age.
Focus area 8: Economic growth, employment and infrastructure
Target ‘b’: amend to: achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all people of all
ages who seek employment including for marginalised groups by 2030
Additional target k: By 2030 older workers are provided access to education or vocational training,
re-skilling or other means to maintain their employability.
Rationale:
Proposed additional target ‘k’ seeks to achieve the MIPAA Objective of “Equality of opportunity
throughout life with respect to continuing education, training and retraining as well as vocational
guidance and placement services.”7 It is supportive of target 8 b, which we recommend maintaining
with the minor addition of ‘people of all ages’. Achieving these targets will improve universal access
to decent work.
7 United Nations 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing Para 40
Stakeholders