Advocacy

After years of supporting lonely older people in Ukraine, we realized that we want to and can do more for the systemic changes in our country and the revision of existing societal stereotypes and prejudices. Therefore, we launched a new advocacy direction to protect the rights and interests of

older people and, by engaging new partners, communities, volunteers, and caring people, create an age-friendly World where happy ageing is possible and desired, where everyone, regardless of age, is first and foremost a Human. 

Ageing or longevity? Becoming an adult or getting old? Old age or second half of life? Our attitude and perception influence the reality we form. The one where older people feel an integral part of society, capable of contributing to its development, and receive the needed support, or the one where they are forgotten, lonely, and isolated, feeling like a burden.

Alina Diachenko

Advocacy Lead

Our advocacy goals

  • Gradually alter the views and stereotypes about older people.
  • Develop an understanding of seniors’ interests, opportunities, and needs.
  • Expand the definition of their role in society and their participation in the development of Ukraine.
  • Support the establishment of appropriate conditions for happy ageing with dignity.
  • Contribute to a better system of proper social services for those older people who need help and care.

All this is possible only in cooperation with representatives of public authorities and local communities, social support services, civil society organizations, international institutions, expert groups, and active and committed people.

How we started

In 2023, we began studying international surveys and reports on ageing and active longevity, namely:

Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing

2002, UN

Ageing in the XXI Century: A Celebration and A Challenge

2012, UNFPA and HelpAge International 

World Report on Ageing and Health

2015, World Health Organization

The Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030). Baseline Report

2020, World Health Organization

Global Report on Ageism

2021, World Health Organization

We are convinced that the topic of ageing needs a systemic and strategic approach including global expertise and relevant works and achievements in this regard in Ukraine. Therefore, partnerships are of considerable significance to us.

Partnerships and cooperation

Starenki Charitable Foundation became a member of the HelpAge International network in 2023. HelpAge International is a global organization that improves the lives of and advocates for the rights of older people worldwide.

We are partners with Petits Frères des Pauvres — an international federation that works on relieving isolation and loneliness among older people. This partnership opened a wide range of cooperation possibilities regarding ageing and older age.

In addition to international partnerships, we are networking with Ukrainian charitable organizations supporting seniors.

Uniting efforts and networking help us see the big picture of older people’s lives in Ukraine, promptly respond to their needs, and find the best solutions for happy ageing in Ukraine.

Starenki is a member of the Age and Disability Technical Working Group (as a part of Protection Cluster) and a participant of Health Cluster and Protection Cluster. These groups and clusters operate within the coordination system of international help to Ukraine and include a wide range of international and local organizations.

World trends and surveys

Starenki team regularly learns and analyzes new surveys on ageing and older age. The global context allows us to find common points with other countries, and even continents, and move towards happier longevity in sync with the entire world.

For instance, in 2023, we visited the office of our partner Petits Frères des Pauvres in France to share experience.

Study visits, international surveys, and programs prepared by expert organizations such as HelpAge International and WHO let us outline some global trends (please click on the buttons below to read more):

Population ageing

The world population is ageing. According to researchers, one in five people will be aged 60 or over by 2050. In most countries, older people will constitute 30% of the population, while this percentage is currently even higher in Ukraine due to war, rapid mortality rate, and migration of younger generations.    

Declining fertility rates and longer life expectancy are global reasons for population ageing.

This tendency poses many challenges to the world and requires significant changes in national and international policies, pension systems, healthcare systems, and social and economic areas.

The provision of long-term care is one of the above-mentioned challenges. The number of older people requiring care and support increases. According to a report by the WHO about healthy ageing, long-term care services will provide older people with the ability to maintain the best possible level of functioning, and meet the changing and diverse needs that seniors may have at home, in their communities and, when needed, in facilities. 

Yet, population ageing is a great achievement of civilization. As British Ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Harris said at the briefing on rebuilding age-friendly Ukraine: “There is nothing wrong with having more experienced people in the population.”

Requiring our support, older people are willing and able to be a support to society themselves. They are capable and active part of society but are frequently excluded from transformational processes when they reach a “pension age”. However, older people have something to offer to communities. They are active volunteers, founders of associations and organizations, caregivers, taxpayers, voters, and holders of precious knowledge. This list goes on and on. The most important thing is to let older people be participants, and not only help receivers.

Recommendations for reading:

Ageing in the XXI Century: A Celebration and A Challenge 

World report on ageing and health 

The Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) Baseline Report

Ageism

Ageism is a discrimination based on age. It arises when age is used to categorize and divide people in ways that lead to harm and injustice.

Ageism seriously affects people’s health, well-being, and rights. According to global surveys, ageism can lead to a shorter lifespan, poorer physical and mental health. This type of discrimination reduces the quality of older people’s lives and increases their social isolation and feeling of loneliness (both of which are associated with serious health issues). It might increase the risk of violence and abuse against older people. 

Recommendations for reading: Global report on Ageism 

Loneliness and social isolation

Unlike loneliness, social isolation is an objective measure reflecting the frequency of social interactions, or how often a person sees and interacts socially with other people. A person with less than two or one regular social contacts is considered socially isolated. Starenki Foundation supports older people who experience social isolation because they have no families.

The main factors of loneliness determined by researchers are the following:

  1. Absence of support in day-to-day activities (preparing food, conducting household chores, visiting doctor)
  2. Low number of social contacts (total number of friends and relatives)
  3. Low level of social support (having someone to do something enjoyable with).
  4. Low level of social confidence (worries about meeting new people and being accepted in society).

Social isolation and emotional loneliness increase in cardiovascular disease and depression. The recent surveys show that socially isolated older people have higher chances to develop dementia. Social isolation and loneliness are associated with a decrease in lifespan.

Recommendations for reading:

Loneliness and Social Isolation Among Older People in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region 

Including us What older people say about the barriers they face to social inclusion

Older people in Ukraine

Populatio of Ukraine
aged 60+

According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, as of January 2022, over 10.1 million people aged 60+ lived in Ukraine that constituted almost one fourth of the total population — 24%. The State Statistics Service’s data show that the population of Ukraine was 41.4 million people at that time (excluding temporarily occupied Crimea).

Ukrainians are abroad now

Because of the full-scale invasion, around 5-6 million Ukrainians (according to some estimates — 8 million Ukrainians) are abroad now. Mostly, they are women aged 25-45, youth and children. It dramatically influences the demographic situation in Ukraine, and we can state that the percentage of people over 60 in Ukraine is now higher than before February 2022.

Useful figures

According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the share of women among older people in Ukraine is 64%, while the share of men is 36%. This amounts to 5.7 million women over 60 and 3.2 million older men.

As of February 2022, almost ⅔ older people in Ukraine lived in cities, that is 5.9 million, and only 3 million seniors resided in rural areas. 

More about older people in Ukraine: 

They live in the dark Amnesty International Report (English and Ukrainian)

I’ve lost the life I knew (English)

Rebuilding a society for all ages in Ukraine (English, Ukrainian)