Elderly Action Plan

Delegates from 160 countries at a U.N. conference on aging agreed unanimously Friday to commit their governments to promote the health and well-being of the elderly and help poor countries cope with rapidly aging populations.

However, their 44-page "International Plan of Action on Aging" contained no specific means of financing or monitoring such commitments, sought by developing countries.

The number of people 60 and older is projected to grow from 600 million to nearly 2 billion by 2050.

"This demographic transformation challenges all our societies to promote increased opportunities, in particular for older persons to realize their potential to participate fully in all aspects of life," the delegates said in a separate statement.

The conference spoke out against abuse of older people and in favor of equal rights for older men and women, more research on aging, and opportunities for the elderly to work "as long as they wish."

In the action plan, they said "a society for all ages" should include improved elderly access to public health services, prevention of old-age dependency, research into aging topics and inclusion of younger generations in elderly life.

Fanta Sisay, a member of Gambia's delegation, called the action plan "a step forward" but said "more needs to be done" to help families in poor countries pay to care for aging relatives.

Although delegates said development in poorer countries is important for improving the lives of the elderly, U.N. undersecretary general Nitin Desai conceded that "a large amount of what has to be done will have to come from national resources."

The four days of negotiations were often mired in Mideast conflicts.

Arab delegations insisted on an explicit reference to elderly living under "foreign occupation," claiming Israel was targeting older Palestinians. Israel and the United States argued that mentioning "armed conflict" was enough.

Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Iran and a few other countries altered a paragraph on persons displaced by civil strife, arguing it could justify meddling in a country's internal affairs, said Sudanese delegation member Ilham Ahmed.

The week-long assembly drew attention to differences in how the developed and developing world cope with aging populations.

The world's richest countries have had time to put social services and policies in place for dealing with their aging populations. But the rate of increase in the number of people over 60 has just begun to be felt in the developing countries because of improved health care, economic development and the AIDS epidemic.

As the older population increases in the developed world, the major problems are avoiding unemployment and sustaining pension systems.

Poor countries face the same problems, but are burdened with the simultaneous struggle for economic development.

The last day of the conference was marred by the apparent suicide of the Yugoslav delegate, Health and Labor Secretary Miodrag Kovac, 54, who was found dead in his hotel Friday morning, the Yugoslav embassy said.