Having secured its recognition and inclusion within the African Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism Group on Sustainable Development, Stakeholder Group on Ageing Africa (SGA Africa), organized the first Annual African Regional Conference on Ageing from November 5-7 2018, at the Sheraton Abuja Hotel.
The aim of the inaugural conference, included to mobilize various stakeholders to create a strong and active SGA Africa architecture in the region, to ensure effective engagement in SDGs and Agenda 2063 on multi levels and wider debates in the region on ageing inclusion with strong participation of older persons.
With the theme: New Consensus for Innovative Multi-Level Stakeholder Engagements, the conference was designed to be practical and action oriented drawing from expert presentations, high panel discussions and open moderated dialogues within the context of Africa’s population dynamics and growing absolute numbers of older persons.
Participants shared national experiences, drawing lessons from social policies, legal and programmatic frameworks that have worked as well as the prospects and challenges of ageing inclusion in the region.
The conference which was declared open by Her Excellency, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, wife of Nigeria’s Vice President, was attended by Chief, Ageing Programme Unit, UNDESA, Amal Rafel, who delivered the conference keynote, representative of the Special Initiative Division, UN UNECA/AFRFSD, representative of governments, development partners and international NGOs.
Three hundred (300) participants attended from across 10 African countries. The conference which was organized around 10 sub themes including Ageism and the Rights of older Persons, Aligning Health Care Systems to the Needs of Older Persons and Long Term Care Options as well as Social Protection and Social Security, concluded with a declaration, asserting the diversity and contributions of older persons and the need to accelerate inclusive implementation of Agenda 2030 and AU Agenda 2063.
Participants also called upon the African member states to accelerate the ratification and implementation of the African Charter on Human and People’s Right on the Rights of older persons in Africa as well as to support the development, adoption and implementation of a UN convention of the rights of older person.
Download full version of Communique here.
Photos of the conference is available here.
** The Stakeholder Group on Ageing Africa (SGA Africa) is a regional multi-stakeholder coalition including CSOs. Professional Bodies, Academics and Human Rights Institutes engaged in multi level decision making processes to combat age discrimination and promote inclusion of older persons in sustainable development agendas and age specific legal, policy and programmatic frameworks.
