United Nations International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP) is internationally observed every year on the 1 October. The 2020 theme is “Pandemics: Do they Change How We Address Age and Ageing?”.
The year 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, the 30th Anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP), and it has also seen the emergence of COVID-19, which has caused an upheaval across the world. Considering the higher risks confronted by older persons during the outbreak of pandemics such as COVID-19, the event will address the need to target policy and programmatic interventions towards raising awareness of their differential needs and will stress the contributions of older persons to their own health as well as the multiple roles they play in the preparedness and response phases in current and future pandemics. A panel discussion will feature speakers representing the UN system, Member States, academia and civil society. The event is co-organized by the NGO Committee on Ageing (New York) and DESA, and co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations, in collaboration with the Group of Friends of Older Persons.
