Healthy ageing policies outpace funding
Rank 8 | Health and human development | Global | SDGs 3, 10
Source publication: 1 October 2026. Clock time not stated by publisher. Evidence status: Country policy reporting and funding gaps.
AI-generated representative illustration | soft chalk pastel observational illustration. Credit: Development Connects | Kallol Saha.
More countries report laws against age discrimination and policies on long-term care, but implementation remains uneven, according to a WHO midpoint review of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing released on 1 October. Among reporting countries, 57.7% had age-discrimination laws, compared with 44.5% in 2018. The share reporting long-term-care policies reached 56.7%, up from 49% in 2023.
Policy adoption is not the same as accessible services. WHO said 33.8% of countries reported little or no dedicated funding to develop long-term care, while only 22.7% tracked older people's health over time. Those figures refer to countries responding to the assessment, and differences in reporting matter when interpreting change.
Case detail
The report was transmitted to the UN General Assembly on 28 September and described in WHO's 1 October update. It brings together contributions from thirteen UN entities, the World Bank Group and civil-society partners. Delivery measures include integrated community care, workforce training and the incorporation of services into universal-health-care benefit packages.
The review also finds weaker participation in one area: the share of countries reporting active multi-stakeholder forums on ageing fell from 53.1% in 2020 to 43.3%. A multilingual survey reached more than 1,000 older people in 58 countries. That survey adds personal experience to country-level policy reporting, but is not an estimate of the needs of every older person worldwide.
Evidence and delivery status
WHO projects the population aged 60 and over will reach 2.1 billion by 2050. That is a demographic projection, not the present headcount. Country policy adoption and service availability remain different measures. The review identifies progress in frameworks alongside gaps in finance, participation and tracking of older people's health.
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