The International Institute on Ageing, United Nations, Malta (INIA), in collaboration with the United Nations Fund for Population Affairs (UNFPA), is currently holding the 21st International Training Programme on Social Gerontology until 25 February.

The first quarter of the 21st century has often been called the age of ageing. It is a well-known fact that the world’s elderly population is increasing by one million persons every month. In 1985, there were 427 million persons aged 60 and over constituting 8.8% of the world’s population. It is projected that by the year 2025, 14.3% of the world’s population will be aged 60 and above. This number is expected to increase to two billion by the year 2050.

We are experiencing a revolution in longevity in which the average life expectancy at birth since 1950 has increased by 20 years and is projected to increase by another 10 years by mid-century. Since 1985, the majority of the world’s older persons are to be found in developing countries. Here, the increase will be greatest and most rapid. In fact, the older population is expected to increase four-fold by 2050.

This dramatic and unprecedented increase in the number and proportion of elderly persons in the world will lead to unique political, economic and social consequences. In developing countries, this demographic development will pose a particular challenge. Although a number of developing countries have initiated various innovative and concrete measures aimed at meeting the needs of older persons, there exists an acute shortage of trained care-givers at all levels in the field of gerontology.

The multi-disciplinary training programme in social gerontology, designed by an international expert group, aims at providing a broad and up-to-date understanding of the complex and far-reaching consequences of mass longevity. Participants who hail from Belize, Georgia, Nigeria, St Lucia, India and Malta will be helped to evolve and implement appropriate policies that will ensure for older persons, a high quality of life in their own society.