AGE participated in the High-Level Conference on Healthy Equity held by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Ljubljana in mid-June. The aim of the conference was to take stock of advances in health equity and to discuss ways to accelerate progress towards healthier and more prosperous lives for all in the Word Health Organization (WHO) European Region. EU Member States, international organisations and civil society organisations, including participants from both the health sector and sectors that impact health equity, had been asked to come together to set the European agenda for the next 10 years on increasing equity in health.
AGE representative, Bozidar Voljc, made a clear statement to underlined how important it is to truly involve older persons in those discussions from the local to the European regional level:
“In the frame of inequities there are important issues of ageism, discrimination, elder abuse and other ageist practices, which lead to marginalisation and poverty. That’s why it is important to give a voice to older people in policy debates at European, national, regional and local levels.”
At the end of the Conference, Member States agreed to and expressed their strong support to the Ljubljana Statement on Health Equity.
AGE is committed to working on health inequalities notably with the WHO and its Regional Office for Europe (we are in the process of being recognised as a non state actor in official relation with the WHO) and will participate in the 69th Regional Committee for Europe in September (Copenhagen). We also closely collaborate on those issues with the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA).
