Total: 405 good practice(s). Download
A national health-sector strategy focusing on healthy ageing, strengthening geriatric care, prevention of non-communicable diseases, age-friendly health services, and integration of ageing into public health planning. It aligns Bangladesh's healthy system with demographic ageing trends.
Older persons (60+) in Bangladesh, particularly those with chronic diseases and age-related health needs.
Developed within national health planning processes, aligned with WHO healthy ageing frameworks. Implementation occurs through integration into health service delivery, workforce planning, and public health programming.
This is a good practice because it shifts ageing from social welfare alone to health-system integration, addressing chronic disease and long-term care needs. It is replicable in low and middle-income settings facing rapid demographic transition.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is actively promoting the initiative of age-friendly communities. 16 cities have already joined this initiative. Each province is required to prepare its own strategic document, and the plan’s success depends on close collaboration among municipalities, local institutions, and governorates. Additional components—like travel and cultural tours designed for older adults—are also being introduced.A National Age‑Friendly Environments Document, officially implemented in 2024, sets national standards and guidelines. It includes:
The Welfare Organization reports that around 6.5 million older adults currently benefit from services such as home care, counseling, day and night care, and social support.
Iran's Urban Transformation: 15+ Cities Embrace Age-Friendly Initiatives
The National Institute of Social Defense: Training Courses on Old-Age Care, implemented by the Indian Government and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, provides a range of training courses on old-age care. One of the training courses provided includes the PG Diploma Course in Integrated Geriatric Care, which aims to develop a team of trained frontline personnel that have a skill for working with aged persons.
Graduates and individuals with a 10th‑grade education interested in geriatric care benefited—specifically, around 11 students enrolled in the one‑year PG Diploma and 520 caregivers completed the three‑month Certificate Course during 2015–16.
The programme successfully trained over 520 bedside caregivers, thereby expanding the pool of skilled personnel tasked with addressing elderly healthcare needs. This strengthened support frameworks for senior citizens and contributed to improved geriatric service delivery through enhanced caregiver competence.
Built upon the National Policy on Older Persons, NISD designed institutionalised training courses—with curricula covering gerontology, counselling, management, and practical placements in old‑age homes and hospitals. Admission was merit‑based, and courses were offered free of cost to ensure accessibility.
Because it provides free, structured, and competency-based training that produces a dedicated cadre of geriatric caregivers, filling a critical skills gap while enhancing elder care capacity.
The National Multisectoral Action Plan (2018-2027), implemented by National and Local Cambodian Governments, focuses on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, specifically cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes.
All Cambodian citizens benefit, as the plan targets prevention and control of the four main NCDs—cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes—by addressing major risk factors like tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diet, and inactivity.
The WHO–UNDP‑supported investment case estimated that implementing recommended NCD interventions would avert over 180,000 deaths and generate nearly 700,000 healthy life‑years gained over 15 years, while restoring approximately KHR 1.7 trillion (US $417 million) in economic productivity.
The plan was crafted by Cambodia’s Ministry of Health, building on its 2013–2020 NCD strategy, and developed through a multisectoral consultation. It outlines governance structures, legal drafting schedules, and an action matrix assigning responsibilities across multiple ministries and development partners.
It integrates cost-effective, WHO-recommended “best buys”, is developed through multisectoral coordination, and shows quantifiable health and economic impact—making it scalable, evidence-based, and practical across sectors.
The National Plan for Disaster Management (2021-2025), developed by the Bangladeshi Government, aims to manage disaster risk based on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) and Standing Order on Disaster (SOD). This plan gives priority to women, children, senior citizens, persons with disability and ethnic minorities for all proposed activities.
The whole population of Bangladesh, with focus on vulnerable groups such as women, children, elderly people, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities.
The anticipatory action framework under NPDM has expanded to cover 200,000 vulnerable households in 15 climate hotspots. Ahead of Cyclone Mocha, 45,000 individuals received anticipatory cash transfers, reducing losses and strengthening resilience.
Led by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR), NPDM 2021–2025 was drafted through extensive desk reviews (previous NPDM, Sendai Framework, SDGs) and nationwide consultations engaging multi-sector and whole-of-society stakeholders.
It mainstreams anticipatory action within national disaster governance, ensures inclusive participation, and strengthens preparedness and rapid response capacities.
This policy aims to create a whole-of-society approach to ageing, targeting the infrastructures, social systems and awareness necessary for elderly to age with dignity. The policy has 8 objectives; protect the rights of elders, create age-friendly environments, improve healthcare and well-being, strengthen financial security and livelihoods, promote social inclusion, expand long-term and palliative care, coordinate ageing initiatives across sectors, and improve data and accountability.
Citizens of Sri Lanka of all ages
This plan was developed though stakeholder consultation and in alignment with global ageing frameworks such as MIPAA.
his policy uses a rights-based model, treating older persons as rights holders rather than passive beneficiaries. Categorizes elderly as recognized citizens that have autonomy and works towards diminishing age discrimination throughout Sri Lanka. Additionally, this model adopts a life-course approach. It also aims to strengthen healthcare systems specifically to prepare for a rapidly ageing population.
The National Policy for Senior Citizens, implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Indian Government, promotes age-friendly, barrier-free access in public spaces and supports the development of housing complexes for single and in-need older persons. This policy advocates for universal design standards and the creation of multi-purpose centers for social interaction within housing colonies. Additionally, this policy offers older persons loans for purchasing repairing homes with easy repayment schedules. The policy further emphasizes the need for special attention to older women, particularly those in rural areas, by ensuring access to health care, nutrition, shelter, and protection against abuse. The guidelines also advocate for programmes that promote their economic independence through skill development, self-help groups, and micro-credit schemes, while recognizing their role in family and community life.
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.
The National Policy for Senior Citizens of Bhutan, implemented by the Royal Government of Bhutan, aims to providea framework to guide and coordinate the formulation of policies, plans, programmes and legislation for senior citizens. This policy additionally aims to mainstream needs and concerns of senior citizens in all other relevant policies, plans and programmes.
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.
The Maldives National Policy on Ageing (2025) provides a comprehensive, rights‑based framework to prepare the country for rapid population ageing by ensuring that older persons can live with dignity, independence, health, and social inclusion. Grounded in the Constitution of the Maldives and aligned with global commitments such as the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, the UN Principles for Older Persons, the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the policy adopts a life‑course and whole‑of‑society approach. It is structured around four interlinked pillars: (1) integrating ageing into national development, protection, and lifelong learning; (2) promoting optimal health and well‑being through accessible health care, healthy ageing, and long‑term care; (3) creating enabling and age‑friendly physical, social, and digital environments that support participation and caregiving; and (4) ensuring income security and social protection for older persons and their caregivers. Implementation is led through multi‑sectoral coordination, community and family engagement, and public awareness initiatives, reflecting a shift from viewing ageing as a social burden to recognizing it as a shared development priority and opportunity. The policy also takes a "mainstreaming gender" approach mentioning gender issues as a cross-cutting matter and makes specific reference to older women.
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.
The National Policy on Lifelong Learning provides a national framework to ensure learning opportunities throughout life for all Cambodians. It defines lifelong learning as a continuous process encompassing formal, non-formal and informal education across the life course. The policy seeks to improve knowledge, skills and competencies, support employability, strengthen productivity and promote social inclusion. Implementation involves developing flexible learning programmes, establishing learning centres and infrastructure, strengthening the capacity of programme coordinators and educators, recognizing learning outcomes through the Cambodian National Qualifications Framework, and encouraging ministries, institutions, employers and development partners to provide continuous learning opportunities.
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)
