“Global Coalition On Aging” Launches as 450 Million People Turn 65 Over Next Two Decades

Greater Longevity is a Call to Action for Governments, Industry, Global Institutions

NEW YORK (Jan. 26, 2011) – The Global Coalition on Aging announced its launch today as a pioneering new initiative to raise awareness and address the social and economic impact of global population aging. Founding members are AEGON, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Galderma, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Nutricia, Pfizer, and Universal American Corp. Deloitte Consulting LLP is serving as an advisory member.

The Global Coalition on Aging will provide leadership, research, and advocacy to help nations and industry advance sustainable solutions that address the unprecedented demographic transformation already underway. The Coalition is unique in its focus on aging’s impact on all aspects of life and society: the workplace, health, and long-term financial security.

“The emergence of the Coalition is tremendously exciting and fills a critical need at a critical time,” said Dr. John Beard, Director of Ageing and Life Course for the World Health Organization. “It is unique, not just in the breadth of its interests in aging, but also in its philosophy that the best approach is for people to remain engaged and productive as they grow older. We look forward to working closely with the Coalition to press for change in the policy arena.”

The Coalition will foster a re-shaping of public policies to align to the new demographic realities. Over the next three years, the Coalition will roll out a strategic plan to drive social and policy changes in four key areas:

  • Education and work
  • Financial planning and security
  • Health and wellness
  • Technology, innovation, and biomedical research

“We will share this plan with business, governments and other stakeholders who want to join us in this important new venture,” said Coalition Executive Director Michael Hodin. “We will advance innovative solutions to improve health and wellness, expand work opportunities, and provide ongoing education and financial planning to turn what could be a fiscal and political crisis into platforms for economic growth and intergenerational collaboration.”

It is estimated that there will be two billion people over the age of 60 by mid-century, and they will outnumber children for the first time in history. “These demographic realities call for far-reaching work, lifestyle, business, and governmental changes,” said Nicholas Eberstadt, demographer and Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. “We are still living with public policies and social infrastructures that were designed for a different time with different demographics.”

In the United States alone, the number of people over 65 will double from 40 million today to 89 million – one in every five Americans – by 2050. Similar shifts are underway across the globe, though the pace of change differs from country to country. Populations in Europe, Japan and South Korea are further along the aging curve, while countries like China and India, which have younger populations, will experience the aging phenomenon a generation or two later.

According to Baroness Sally Greengross, a Member of the UK House of Lords and President of the International Longevity Centre United Kingdom, the Coalition is making “a great contribution with its optimistic view of aging. These leading global companies are committed to helping this generation and the next live differently, more productively and with greater fulfillment for themselves and society, into their eighties and beyond.”

“As the longevity miracle shapes the 21st century, the Global Coalition on Aging is well positioned to draw upon the best corporate strategies, partner with stakeholders across society and work with governments and policymakers to promote pragmatic solutions,” Hodin said.

Latest Developments

We keep our members and partners in touch with the most recent updates and opinions in the worldwide dialogue on population longevity and related issues.

Global Coalition on Aging Workshop Calls on G7 Countries to Fund Pull Incentives to Spur Antibiotic Innovation

The Global Coalition on Aging, in partnership with JPMA, today announced the release of its workshop report on the AMR crisis facing G7 countries and the world, “The Value of Pull Incentives in Japan to Encourage Investment in Antibiotic Innovation to Solve the AMR Crisis.” If strong action is not taken to address AMR, we will lose the antibiotics we need to cure infections, which is likely to outpace cancer as a major cause of death, killing an estimated 10 million by 2050.

Our National Conversation on Aging

Now that President Biden officially declared his run for a second term, what are we to make of the countless warnings about his age? Clearly, voters have already considered age a major factor – Google Search results for ‘Biden age’ hit an all-time-high just before the 2020 election – and speculation has only heightened four years on. Unfortunately, these concerns are misguided and even dangerous because they conflate age with poor health and confuse ideas about work and retirement.

World Immunization Week: Best-Kept Secret for 21st-Century Healthy Aging

The tremendous success of childhood immunisation campaigns across the 20thcentury is one of the greatest triumphs of public health. Along with advances in sanitation and antibiotics, childhood immunisation has resulted in the miracle of modern longevity: the once extravagant prospect of growing old has become the norm. Now, in our 21st century, isn’t it our great challenge to build on this achievement by realising a healthy longevity?

South China Morning Post Letter to the Editor

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the defining global problems of our time. Drug-resistant bacterial infections killed an estimated 1.27 million people in 2019. By 2050, 10 million lives annually could be lost to antimicrobial resistance, and annual global gross domestic product could fall by between 1.1 per cent and 3.8 per cent. Fortunately, Chinese policymakers, physicians and patients have shown what is possible when they focus collective efforts on antimicrobial resistance.

Medicine Price Setting Might Appeal to Voters but Will Cost Patients

As policymakers search for potential cuts to the national budget, they risk jeopardizing the country’s most cost-effective use of healthcare dollars: biomedical innovation regarding vaccines , prescription drugs, and emerging therapies, including antibodies. As the nation rapidly ages, protecting this pipeline of medicine will not only improve health outcomes but will do so at a lower cost by reducing more expensive hospital and primary care.

Global Coalition on Aging Hosts Cross-Sector Roundtable to Tackle Heart Valve Disease in Aging Societies

The Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) and the Global Heart Hub have released a global position paper “Heart Valve Disease: Harnessing Innovation to Save Lives, Mitigate Costs, and Advance the Healthy Aging Agenda.” The report builds upon on a December 2022 GCOA-GHH roundtable of cross-sector experts and examines how behavior and policy change can best address heart valve disease in our 21st century.

New York City Twins with Ireland to Develop Age Friendly Communities

The twinning commits both sides to share knowledge on age friendly programs and builds on the 2011 Dublin Declaration of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. The agreement was signed by the Cathaoirleach (Mayor) Nick Killian of Meath County Council which hosts the Irish Age Friendly Programme and Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Commissioner for Aging.

Just Getting Started at 75

In the latest charge against the promise of healthy aging, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, oncologist and bioethicist, doubled down on his infamous 2014 essay stating that 75 is the ideal age to die. Now 65, he maintains that after age 75, he will no longer receive medical screenings and interventions like colonoscopies, cancer treatment, flu shots, and heart valve replacement.