Date
Senior citizens live and participate actively in a society that guarantees their rights, promotes their responsibilities, recognizes their capabilities and contributions, and facilitates their enjoyment of a life of fulfilment, health and security. Active and Productive Ageing for National Development; Integrated Responsibility and, Enabling and Supportive Environments.
General Objectives
to enhance the quality of life of senior citizens, and provide a framework for:
a. Establishing Government commitments and priorities in effecting enabling environments;
b. Operationalizing the tenets and principles embodied in international and regional instruments regarding the elderly, to which Jamaica is a party, including the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) and the Regional Strategy for Implementation;
c. Mainstreaming of older persons into international and national development across all sectors;
d. Developing a life-course intergenerational approach to policy that stresses equity, reciprocity and inclusiveness of all age groups in all policy areas and;
e. Aligning policy statements to Vision 2030 Jamaica, and to emerging priorities at local, regional and global levels.
Beneficiaries
all persons 60 years and older
Country
Type
Plan
Responsible institution
Link
Topics / Chapters
Main Priority Measure
A.1 - Eradicate poverty
Reinforce the public policies and actions needed to eradicate poverty and break the cycles of exclusion and inequality as a condition for achieving development in the region.
A.2 - Human rights, gender and interculturality
Apply a human rights approach with a gender and intercultural perspective in addressing population and development issues, and step up efforts to recognize, promote and uphold relevant goals in order to eliminate inequalities and foster social inclusion.
A.4 - Population and development
Ensure full integration of population dynamics into sustainable development planning, sectoral policies and public policies and programmes in general ―in particular in development and land-use planning― at national and subnational levels, drawing on sociodemographic knowledge and information and harnessing technological advances.
A.5 - Sustainable development for human well-being
Pursue sustainable development as a means of securing now and in the future human well-being for all peoples on an equitable basis, and ensuring that the linkages between population, resources, the environment and development are fully recognized, appropriately administered and maintained in a harmonious and dynamic balance with a thriving biodiversity and healthy ecosystems
C.18 - Quality aging
Formulate policies with a gender perspective to ensure a good quality of life in old age, not only for urban dwellers, but also for those who live in rural and forest areas.
C.19 - Age structure in policies and programs
Design and implement public policies, plans and programmes —at all political and administrative levels— that take into account changes in the age structure, in particular population ageing, and the opportunities and challenges associated with these changes over the medium and long term.
C.20 - Quality of life and full participation of older people
Design policies at the national, federal and local levels to guarantee quality of life, the development of potential and the full participation of older persons, taking account of the need for intellectual, emotional and physical interaction and the different situation of men and women, with emphasis on the groups that are most susceptible to discrimination, such as older persons with disabilities, those without economic resources or pension coverage, or those who live alone or lack a support network.
C.21 - Equitable participation of older people in the design and application of policies
Ensure the inclusion and equitable participation of older persons in the design and application of policies, plans and programmes that concern them.
C.22 - Eradicate discrimination towards the elderly
Eradicate the multiple forms of discrimination that affect older persons, including all forms of violence against older women and men, taking into account the obligations of States with respect to ageing with dignity and rights.
C.23 - Eliminate violence that affects older people
Establish or consolidate human rights programmes to tackle and eliminate violence against older persons in the public and private spheres.
C.24 - Priority to the elderly
Give the highest priority to older persons in plans for disaster prevention, mitigation and relief, including disaster preparedness, relief worker training on emergency prevention and response and the availability of goods and services.
C.26 - Adequate health policies
Bring health policies into line with the challenges of the varied and changing epidemiological profile arising from ageing and the epidemiological transition, reinforcing the fight to eradicate communicable diseases and implementing actions for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases traditionally referred to as non-communicable, but now known to be strongly influenced by conditions of social and economic vulnerability in the early years of life, and ensure that these policies take into account gender, age, regional, ethnic and socioeconomic specificities.
C.27 - Public policies with priority on the elderly
Include older persons as a priority focus of public policy and as fundamental stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of policies aiming to improve the quality of life of older persons.
C.30 - Social protection for the elderly
Promote the development of allowances and services relating to social security, health and education in the social protection systems targeting older persons to improve their quality of life, economic security and social justice.
C.31 - Rights, dignity and well-being for families and the elderly
Include care in social protection systems, through allowances, social and health-care services and economic benefits that maximize autonomy, in particular for older persons, and guarantee the rights, dignity and well-being of families and older persons, including the right to a dignified death with proper care, without any form of discrimination or violence.
C.32 - Protection and social security with a gender perspective
Extend social protection and social security systems, with a gender perspective, to include those women who have devoted their lives to productive work, whether as domestic workers, women in rural areas or informal workers.