Addressing the Aging Population and the Needs of Older Adults

​Ritu Sadana, senior health adviser at the World Health Organization (WHO), shares how the WHO negotiated its first global strategy and action plan on ageing and health (2016–2020). She also discussed its extension, a proposal for a Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020–2030) that will be considered by the upcoming World Health Assembly in May 2020, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030. Sadana focuses on how WHO has engaged Ministries of Health in eight countries to increase their commitment to evidence-informed policies and programs through a country-led effort that also reflects a collaboration between the World Health Organization’s three levels (headquarters, regional and country offices) and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Center Senior Research Scientist Kathryn Kietzman briefly discusses efforts currently underway in California to develop a Master Plan for Aging and her work as part of the research subcommittee tasked with developing a data dashboard to measure progress made by the state over the next 10 years.