Database of good practices on ageing

Senior citizens aged 60 and above across India, particularly those facing economic insecurity, ill health, lack of shelter, or social isolation.

The policy established a framework for state-supported well-being—covering financial and food security, shelter, healthcare, protection against abuse, and access to services. It paved the way for legislative and programmatic measures, such as the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, enhancing legal safeguards, maintenance support, and establishment of old-age homes.

Formulated in response to demographic shifts and vulnerabilities identified in 1999, the policy was developed with multi-sectoral input. Implementation involved coordination across ministries—Health, Transport, Panchayati Raj, Urban Development, etc.—with institutional mechanisms like awareness campaigns, training programs, transport concessions, and legal provisions under the 2007 Act.

It offers a holistic, cross-sectoral approach to ageing—linking policy to law, services, and social protection—ensuring older persons’ dignity, security, and inclusion for decades to come.

• https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1907149

Primarily senior citizens (aged 60+) across Bhutan—especially those vulnerable or without family support—who gain priority access to services and social protection.

The programme ensures that 725 elderly individuals across all 20 administrative unites receive regular medical check‑ups, financial assistance, and support for funeral rites. It also facilitates priority access for senior citizens in hospitals, banks, and public transport, enhancing their inclusion and dignity.

Development began around 2018, with multi‑sector consultations and research. The government, alongside the Royal Society for Senior Citizens (RSSC), facilitated workshops and sensitization programs (e.g. in December 2024), while integrating the policy into the 13th Five-Year Plan and allocating resources for its rollout.

It is a good practice because it provides holistic, rights-based support—combining financial, health, and infrastructural measures—through cross-sector collaboration, ensuring older adults are dignified, included, and empowered in society.

• https://www.bhutantoday.bt/%F0%9D%90%81%F0%9D%90%A1%F0%9D%90%AE%F0%9D%90%AD%F0%9D%90%9A%F0%9D%90%A7-%F0%9D%90%85%F0%9D%90%9A%F0%9D%90%9C%F0%9D%90%9E%F0%9D%90%AC-%F0%9D%90%83%F0%9D%90%9E%F0%9D%90%A6%F0%9D%90%A8%F0%9D%90%A0/

The beneficiaries will be older men and women in Maldives. 

The policy raised increased awareness also leading to the launch of an action plan to implement the policy. 

The policy is a revision of an earlier policy document, taking into consideration new regional priorities as committed to in the Fourth Asia-Pacific Review and Appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It was developed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development of Maldives with support from international experts and ESCAP. Stakeholders were consulted in several stakeholder consultations and their inputs included. 

The policy includes recent developments and was developed in collaboration with stakeholders. It is also supplemented with an action plan. 

Cambodian citizens of all ages

Available evidence confirms that the policy has been adopted as a national framework and incorporated into Cambodia's education reform agenda. The policy promotes the establishment of learning centres, flexible learning programmes, skills recognition mechanisms and partnerships among government, employers and development partners.

The policy was developed in response to Cambodia's human resource development needs and the growing importance of continuous learning in a rapidly changing economic and technological environment. The policy recognizes challenges including school drop-out rates, uneven educational attainment and labour market demands. It was designed as a national framework aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 4 and incorporates implementation mechanisms, action plans, monitoring and evaluation arrangements. The policy was developed through collaboration among government institutions and stakeholders concerned with education and human capital development.

The policy supports the MIPAA objective of promoting access to knowledge, education and training throughout life. Although it is not specifically targeted at older persons, it adopts a life-course approach that recognizes learning as a lifelong process and promotes opportunities for all citizens to continue developing their knowledge and skills. The policy's inclusion of formal, non-formal and informal learning pathways is particularly relevant for older persons who may seek skills upgrading, personal development, community participation or continued engagement in economic and social life. By encouraging flexible learning opportunities and recognition of prior learning, the policy contributes to active ageing, social inclusion and the development of human capital across all age groups.

cambodia_policy_on_lll_04-10-18_eng_1.pdf

Cambodia MIPAA Survey 2021 (reference to Informal Education Policy 2002 and National Policy on Lifelong Learning 2019, as cited by Cambodia in its response to ESCAP)

Older persons in Bangladesh

It was developed as a national policy and referenced/embedded in later sector plans and national social protection strategy documents, which are used to operationalise policy commitments through programmes and implementation plans. 

It provides a national, cross-sector framework for ageing, helping coordinate action beyond one-off projects. It supports policy coherence and creates a platform for expanding measurable programmes.

All Indian citizens aged 60 and above, especially those facing poverty, ill‑health, or living in rural areas; the policy also emphasized support for vulnerable subgroups such as older women and the chronically ill.

The programme introduced state support for income security (e.g., pensions), healthcare access (geriatric wards, mobile clinics, caregiver training), and shelter and welfare services.

NPOP was formulated in line with both constitutional mandates and the UN‑declared International Year of Older Persons (1999) Implementation involved multiple ministries coordinating measures in health, transport, rural development, information, and urban planning. Mechanisms included setting up an autonomous National Council for Older Persons to ensure coordination.

It institutionalized a multi-sectoral, rights-based framework for elder welfare, introducing structured state support across diverse domains and establishing a coordinating council—setting a scalable benchmark for integrated aging policy.

• https://journal.gerontechnology.org/archives/2230-2710-1-PB.pdf

Retired teachers willing and qualified to continue teaching; schools and education institutions facing shortages of qualified teachers, particularly institutions in less-developed, ethnic minority, border and rural areas; young teachers and students benefiting from mentoring and teaching support.

The Plan builds on earlier initiatives, including the Silver-Age Lecturing Plan for primary and secondary schools launched in 2018 and the Silver-Age Teacher Support Programme for Western Universities launched in 2020. Before the national plan was introduced, these programmes had recruited more than 20,000 retired primary and secondary school teachers and nearly 1,000 retired university teachers to provide teaching and research support. The 2023 Plan aims to expand and integrate these efforts, with a target of approximately 120,000 silver-age teachers nationwide within about three years.

The Plan turns population ageing into an opportunity for continued social and economic participation by systematically mobilizing the expertise of retired educators. It is potentially replicable because it combines national coordination with demand-based local implementation and flexible online and offline participation, while building on existing programmes rather than creating an entirely new delivery system.

Beneficiaries included all Cambodian citizens, with a focus on vulnerable groups not yet covered by social protection—such as children, women, pregnant mothers, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. The UN Joint Programme specifically reached about 200,000 poor pregnant women and children under 2 years old.

The programme supports around 200,000 vulnerable pregnant women and children under 2, extending social protection coverage, promoting inclusive assistance, and improving early childhood well-being through integrative cash transfers and institutional capacity building (mptf.undp.org†source). By 2024, Cambodia’s social protection system had reached 7.5 million people nationwide.

The framework was grounded in the National Strategic Development Plan and Rectangular Strategy Phase III, developed through collaboration between multiple ministries and development partners (ILO, UNICEF, EU, GIZ, USAID, JICA, etc.)，It was implemented through the National Social Protection Council (NSPC), supported by legal frameworks, monitoring and evaluation systems, and UN Joint Programme assistance in training, institutional strengthening, and programme integration.

It adopts a lifecycle and inclusive approach, institutionalizes coordination across government and partners, and ensures sustainability by embedding social protection in Cambodia’s long-term development strategy.

• https://english.news.cn/asiapacific/20250220/1bc71509129b4578bebfa16a4cacc912/c.html

Entire Malaysian population, with a focus on individuals, families, and communities across all age groups

The plan has strengthened multi-sectoral collaboration and raised awareness about the importance of physical activity in healthy human development. It has guided interventions to reduce insufficient physical activity by 10% by 2025, contributing to Malaysia’s efforts to meet global NCD targets. NASPAL has also influenced policy reforms in urban planning and workplace health promotion to create environments conducive to active living.

NASPAL was developed using a population health approach, involving collaboration between government and non-government sectors, as well as key areas such as education, urban planning, transportation, and communication. Implementation includes evidence-based strategies such as integrating health promotion into workplaces and healthcare facilities, improving built environments to encourage physical activity, and conducting community programs to foster active lifestyles.

NASPAL adopts a holistic, multi-sectoral approach to promoting physical activity, addressing both individual behavior and environmental factors. It is evidence-based, scalable, and aligned with global health targets, making it an exemplary model for reducing NCDs and improving the well-being of older persons through active living.

Primary beneficiaries are all older persons in Viet Nam with special emphasis given to vulnerable older persons. 

Việt Nam’s National Strategy on Older Persons to 2035, with a vision to 2045 was developed through a formal and inter‑ministerial policy process led by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), based on its legal mandate under the Law on the Elderly (2009). The strategy was prepared in response to Communist Party Resolution No. 42‑NQ/TW (2023) and Government Resolution No. 68/NQ‑CP (2024), which called for renewed and higher‑quality social policies to address rapid population ageing. Drafting was informed by national demographic evidence, assessments of previous ageing programmes, and accumulated implementation experience, and involved coordination with line ministries, provincial authorities, and institutional stakeholders such as the Viet Nam Association of the Elderly. The strategy was aligned with international commitments including the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and was formally adopted through Prime Ministerial Decision No. 383/QĐ‑TTg on 21 February 2025, providing the national framework for subsequent ministerial and provincial implementation plans.

It is a good practice because it adapts the earlier policy to new developments and considers older persons as agents of development. 

Việt Nam repositions older citizens as economic asset under long-term ageing strategy