Total: 413 good practice(s). Download
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)
The National Policy in India, implemented by the Government of India and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, prioritizes older persons by addressing their concerns and ensuring they are living with dignity, purpose and peace. The policy focuses on financial security, healthcare, shelter, welfare, protection from abuse and opportunities for personal growth. The policy emphasises an age-integrated society, adopts a life-cycle approach and highlights the importance of expanding accessible community services (particulaly for older women and rural populations) to remove socio-cultural, economic and physical barriers.
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.
A national policy frameworkthat defines older persons and sets objectives to support a dignified, secure, and healthier life for older people, guiding government action across welfare, health, and social inclusion.
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.
The National Silver-Age Teacher Action Plan was introduced in 2023 to mobilize qualified retired teachers and other experienced retired professionals to continue contributing to education. The Plan covers five areas: higher education, vocational education, basic education, lifelong education and private education. Silver-age teachers provide teaching, mentoring, research guidance, teacher development and institutional support through flexible online and offline arrangements. Particular attention is given to institutions and regions with shortages of qualified teachers, including less-developed, ethnic minority, border and rural areas. The initiative also promotes intergenerational learning and enables older professionals to continue using their knowledge and experience in socially productive roles.
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.
The National Social Protection Policy Framework (2016-2025), implemented by the National and Local Cambodian Governments, is a long-term roadmap focused on social assistance and social security. This framework includes the Elderly People Protection Programme, under which the government asseses possibilities to support older individuals who reside in poor households.
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.
