Event highlights
WHO/Europe Technical Officer on Ageing and Health (left) and Stefania Ilinca, WHO/Europe Technical Officer on Long-term Care (right).
The consultation is complete. Ageing is living: a strategy for promoting a lifetime of health and well-being in the WHO European Region 2026–2030 will now advance to the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, where health ministers and senior representatives from 53 Member States will consider the strategy for adoption and set the Region’s shared health policy direction.
The decision matters to every generation. By 2050, the number of people aged 60 years and over in the WHO European Region is expected to increase by around 50%, while the population aged 85 and over will more than double. Yet longer lives are not consistently healthier lives – and many health, care and long-term care systems are not prepared for this transformation.
The formal political consultation concluded a process that began in January 2025. Over 20 months, more than 3000 people contributed through public hearings, multiple Member State consultations, national and subnational engagement, civil society and expert dialogues, a 10-country Member State Advisory Committee and a dedicated ministerial discussion.
During the final written consultation, all 53 Member States had the opportunity to review the strategy document, its draft decision and its implementation support document.
Member States tested the proposed commitments against their national priorities and systems. Their feedback further strengthened the strategy’s focus on prevention and on transforming care – from fragmented services towards integrated, person-centred pathways spanning primary health care, rehabilitation, reablement, long-term care and palliative care. It also sharpened actions on the care workforce, support for caregivers, sustainable financing, equity, age-friendly environments, innovation and data.
Every comment was assessed and changes were made where they strengthened clarity, feasibility and responsiveness to country realities. The result is a strategy shaped by evidence and by those expected to put it into practice.
Ageing is living now moves towards consideration for adoption and implementation. WHO/Europe will work with Member States, subnational authorities and partners – together with older persons – to translate its commitments into stronger health and care systems, healthier lives and societies in which everyone can participate with dignity at every age.