Press Releases

New Report Details the Threats to Longevity Around the World

NEW YORK (March 10, 2009)— The world is aging--- drastically. By 2050 one third of the world’s population will be over 60. This tremendous achievement in longevity also comes with challenges. In a new publication, Global Aging Report: Threats to Longevity, the International Longevity Center Global Alliance (ILC Global Alliance) outlines the urgent need for the global community to work together to combat the increasing threats to longevity around the world.

Global Aging Report is a collaborative effort of the ten members of the ILC Global Alliance— the United States, Japan, France, Great Britain, the Dominican Republic, India, South Africa, The Netherlands, Argentina and Israel. Together, these centers present a detailed portrait of the realities of population aging around the world and articulate a call to action to effectively meet the challenges of this increased longevity.

The world is experiencing an unprecedented aging of populations in both developing and developed countries. By 2025, it is anticipated that 80 percent of all the persons over sixty-five will be living in the developing world. Across the generations, persons are struggling with infectious diseases including AIDS, lack of food and water, poor health care delivery and they are often denied basic human rights.

“There are great challenges in our aging world, but they can be solved,” says Dr. Robert Butler, president and CEO of the International Longevity Center-USA and founding member of the ILC Global Alliance. “It is imperative nations work together, and learn from each other---comparing policy and cooperating in scientific and scholarly activities. That is the mission of the ILC Global Alliance.”

“It is imperative nations work together, and learn from each other---comparing policy and cooperating in scientific and scholarly activities. That is the mission of the ILC Global Alliance.” ~ Dr. Robert N. Butler, ILC-CEO

The developed world is facing the growth of chronic diseases, the so-called diseases of affluence. Obesity, coronary heart disease, diabetes and smoking-related diseases are among the leading causes of deaths. Developed nations are also struggling with the global warming, growing fuel demand and rising food prices. And finally, the report outlines the concerns of financing longevity. Old people are among the poorest of the poor. And with globalization of the economy the free movement of capital has focused upon cheap labor, which leads to lack of worker’s rights.

Twenty Point Call to Action

Global Aging Report includes an extensive 20 point call to action developed and approved by each of the 10 Global Alliance member nations. They believe “the challenges can be effectively met, that nations can afford old age, that old age will not bring about economic stagnation but rather will contribute to the wealth of nations, that intergenerational conflicts need not occur and gerontocracies will not develop.” But, they conclude, “we cannot afford to delay.”

To learn more about the mission of ILC Global Alliance and download Global Aging Report: Threats to Longevity visit its newly launched website at www.ilc-alliance.org.

The International Longevity Center Global Alliance (ILC Global Alliance) is a multinational research and education consortium. It consists of member organizations whose mission is to help societies address longevity and population aging in positive and productive ways, highlighting older people's productivity and contributions to their families and society as a whole. The ILC Alliance currently includes centers in the U.S., Japan, U.K., France, the Dominican Republic, India, South Africa, Argentina, the Netherlands and Israel. These centers work both autonomously and collaboratively to study how greater life expectancy and increased proportions of older people impact nations around the world. More information on the ILC Global Alliance can be found at www.ilc-alliance.org.