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VOL. 16

Kenya & Tanzania

VOL. 16

Kenya & Tanzania

VOL. 16

Kenya & Tanzania

VOL. 16

Kenya & Tanzania

This edition of The Journal takes a dual approach to addressing population aging in developing nations: first, it showcases innovative solutions and leading practices from the public and private sectors, civil society, and individuals working toward achieving equitable health in a rapidly aging world; second, it provides an in-depth exploration of two sub-Saharan African countries, Kenya and Tanzania, highlighting breakthrough age-related policies and practices emerging from East Africa.

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1
Newsmakers:
RAFAM / Argentina

Newsmakers:
RAFAM / Argentina

Through their programs, RAFAM helps older adults live healthy and independent lifestyles. To learn more, AARP interviewed RAFAM founder and director Slivia Maranzano.

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2Newsmakers:
The Resource Integration Centre (RIC) / Bangladesh

Newsmakers:
The Resource Integration Centre (RIC) / Bangladesh

Through innovative physical, financial, and social, health programs, RIC empowers the older community to age healthily. To learn more about RIC, AARP International interviewed RIC’s Assistant General Manager Ferdousi Begum.

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3
Newsmakers:
JUWAZA / Zanzibar

Newsmakers:
JUWAZA / Zanzibar

JUWAZA addresses challenges facing the aging community in Zanzibar by providing health care services, a universal pension program, and community education opportunities. To learn more about JUWAZA, AARP spoke with the organization’s Secretary Ms. Salama Ahmad Kombo.

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4Newsmakers:
Ethel Foundation for the Aged (EFA) / Kenya

Newsmakers:
Ethel Foundation for the Aged (EFA) / Kenya

The EFA provides home-based health care options, builds social networks, and advocates for the rights of older adults. To learn more about the EFA, AARP spoke with Rev. Fr. Cornel Omondi Oredo C.Ss.R, the Founder and Director of the organization.

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5
Newsmakers:
Convite A.C. / Venezuela

Newsmakers:
Convite A.C. / Venezuela

Created in 2006, Asociación Civil Convite (Convite A.C.) is a nonprofit organization that promotes social, economic, and cultural rights in Venezuela. AARP spoke with the Director-General of Convite, Luis Francisco Cabezas, to learn more about Convite’s work.

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Department

By AARP
Jun 01, 2025

An Interview with Former AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins

We believe that we can learn a lot from the experiences of other countries, and they can learn from our experience as well. That’s why engaging globally is so important.

By Peter Rundlet, Vice-President, AARP International
Jun 01, 2025

From the Editor-in-Chief: 16th Edition of AARP The Journal

The global megatrend of population aging is big news, but it is not bad news. By planning for this demographic shift now, we can ensure that populations everywhere thrive.

Big Picture

By Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Member of Giving Pledge
Jun 01, 2025

A Demographic and Cultural Shift: A Commentary on Aging in India

In 2025, India had the largest population of young people of any country in the world. Within a couple of decades, it will have the largest cohort of people age 60+. This will not be just a demographic transition; it will also mark a seismic cultural shift — and India will need to find ways to manage the coming change.

By Katie Ogwang, Senior Community Based Protection Officer, UNHCR Regional Bureau for East, Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes
Jun 01, 2025

Challenges and Solutions for Older Refugees in the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Region

Stories shared with UNHCR by older adults in refugee camps in Gambella, Ethiopia are a stark reminder of the compounded difficulties they endure, and the challenges that exacerbate their vulnerabilities and needs. Their experiences underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions, to ensure the unique plight of older refugees does not go unnoticed amidst the broader humanitarian crises affecting displaced populations.

By Mamta Murthi, Vice President for People, World Bank
Jun 01, 2025

Increased Longevity Is a Great Success. The Next Frontier Is Policies for Healthy, Prosperous, and Dignified Living

As families shrink, migrate, and take on work, they are less able to provide care for aging relatives. This creates the need for new policies to address the growing demands of older adults.

By Jinkook Lee, Director of the Program on Global Aging, Health, and Policy, Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California
Jun 01, 2025

Population Aging in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Toward Healthy and Prosperous Aging

"...This relatively rapid pace of aging — accompanied by rising life expectancy and declining fertility — offers a much shorter lead time for LMICs to prepare for seismic demographic transformations that will ripple through labor markets, health care sectors, and social policies."

By Alan Murray, Founding President, WSJ Leadership Institute
Jun 01, 2025

Population Aging is One of Three Great Waves of Change on the Global Economic Horizon

In total, the global economic power of the over-50 group, already $35 trillion today, will grow to $95 trillion by 2050. No one can afford to ignore numbers like that.

By Sabine Henning, Vanessa Steinmayer, Napaphat Satchanawakul, UNESCAP
Jun 01, 2025

Supporting Countries in Developing Policies, Programs and Action Plans on Older Persons: Experiences from Asia and the Pacific

Asia and the Pacific is highly diverse in terms of geography, economic and social development, and demographic trends, and aggregate regional figures mask greater variation at the national and subnational levels. However, the general trend is clear: Population age structures are shifting towards a greater number and share of older persons.

By Lou Valdez, Deputy Director, Pan American Health Organization
Jun 01, 2025

The Decade of Healthy Aging in the Americas: Progress and Challenges During the First Three Years of Implementation

In the Region of the Americas, the aging process is uneven demographically, resulting in a fast-growing older population, especially in low- and middle-income countries. It is vital to take advantage of the “window of demographic opportunity” to foster actions and target interventions to ensure long and healthy lives for all.

By Bill Drayton and Maria Clara Pinheiro, Ashoka
Jun 01, 2025

The New Longevity: The World’s Opportunity

In a world of rapid change and increasing interconnection, older people, like everyone else, must be welcomed as changemakers. If their desire to contribute is not embraced, they risk losing the opportunity to participate and becoming more marginalized and isolated.

By Chelsea Clinton Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation
Jun 01, 2025

What’s Working: Taking Action Together to Address Global Health and Economic Challenges

Our model and ethos bring together leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to drive progress around our shared challenges through Commitments to Action — measurable, replicable projects that effect change on a local, national, or global scale.

Brain Health

By Alfred K. Njamnshi, Founder and CEO, Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN)
Jun 01, 2025

Empowering the Global Brain Economy: African Leadership through the Yaoundé Declaration

The Yaoundé Declaration for the Brain Economy, Brain Health, and Brain Capital marks a milestone in advancing global brain health and economic resilience for societal transformation. This declaration provides a roadmap for the transformation of the brain economy.

By Facundo Manes, Founding Director, INECO Foundation for Research in Cognitive Neuroscience and Institute of Neurosciences, Favaloro University Argentina
Jun 01, 2025

INECO Foundation: Going Global from South America in Neurosciences and Brain Health

The institute’s work has led to the development of cognitive assessment tools that are now used globally. Importantly, these tools reflect local cultural contexts, highlighting the need for data collection methods and cognitive assessments tailored to regions outside the USA and Europe.

By Falak Madhani, Karen Blackmon, Edna N. Bosire, Zul Merali, Rozina Karmaliani, Brain and Mind Institute, Chi Udeh-Momoh, Wakeforest University, Olivera Nesic-Taylor
Jun 01, 2025

Innovative Framework for Brain Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Living Lab Approach

The Aga Khan University Brain and Mind Institute (BMI) has deployed a Living Lab approach to address brain health across multiple communities with unique cultural and socioeconomic characteristics in East Africa and South Asia.

Age-Friendly Communities

By Praveen Pai, Focal Point for WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (WHO-GNAFCC) in Kochi, Center of Excellence for Developing Age-Friendly Communities (CEDAC)
Jun 01, 2025

Kochi: A Model for Age-Friendly Urban Development in India

As the first city in Southeast Asia to join the World Health Organization’s Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (WHO-GNAFCC), Kochi is pioneering a new approach to urban development that puts the needs of older individuals at the forefront.

By Holly Dabelko-Schoeny and Marisa Sheldon, Age-Friendly Innovation Center, Ohio State University
Jun 01, 2025

U.S.-Japan Age-Friendly Communities Global Exchange

We had the opportunity to gain a firsthand view of Japan’s practices, when the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) Healthy & Resilient Aging Program took an inaugural American delegation of elected officials, academics, and non-profit leaders from Columbus, Ohio to Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture.

Geroscience

By John R. Beard, Irene Diamond Professor of Epidemiology and Health Policy and Management, Director, International Longevity Center – USA
Jun 01, 2025

Beyond the Absence of Disease: In Pursuit of Healthspan

So far, much of geroscience has focused on linking age-related processes to lifespan — how long people live. But the outcome of greater importance to most people is the quality of these years.

By Debra Whitman, Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer, AARP and Erwin Tan, Senior Director, Thought Leadership Health, AARP
Jun 01, 2025

In Pursuit of Healthspan — Guided by AARP Geroscience Principles

In keeping with AARP’s mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age, we have developed six practical and equitable Principles, grounded in our core values, to ensure the promise of geroscience benefits all.

Feature: Kenya & Tanzania

By Debra Whitman, Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer, AARP; Peter Rundlet, Vice President, AARP International; Holly Schulz, Senior Advisor, AARP
Jun 01, 2025

Aging in East Africa

Over 15 days we traveled thousands of miles, engaged in more than 40 meetings and connected with hundreds of people — all with the goal of taking a deep policy and cultural dive into Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar.

By Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council
Jun 01, 2025

Improving the Lives of the Older People of Zanzibar

The Zanzibari elders told me: “We have trust in you, especially for your care of us. You have gone the extra mile to reduce burden on us, especially by improving our financial capability.” This shows that the increase of the Universal Social Pension touched the hearts of older individuals and that they are thankful.

By Carole Osero-Ageng’o, Global Initiatives Lead and Africa Regional Representative, HelpAge International
Jun 01, 2025

Leveraging Intergenerational Solidarity to Advance Aging Issues in Youthful Kenya

As population aging and urbanization advance, HelpAge International works with partners to build new support systems in Kenya that promote healthy longevity.

By Hon. Dr. Dorothy Gwajima, Minster, Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, United Republic of Tanzania
Jun 01, 2025

Strengthening and Supporting Health, Economic Activity, and Engagement for Older Adults in Tanzania

As is the case in other developing countries, older persons in Tanzania face a number of challenges. Many have limited incomes and struggle to afford health services, good shelter, food, clothes, recreation, and other emotional and social needs. The government has responded with a range of programs and support.