UN urges protection for elderly as world grays

The UN Population Fund has urged governments to build safety nets to ensure that older people have income security and access to essential health and social services as the world’s elderly population grows. The UN agency said discrimination toward and poverty among the aged are still far too prevalent in many countries. It released its report Monday. AP PHOTO

TOKYO  — The UN Population Fund has urged governments to build safety nets to ensure that older people have income security and access to essential health and social services as the world’s elderly population grows.

The UN agency said discrimination toward and poverty among the aged are still far too prevalent in many countries. It released its report Monday in Tokyo, capital of the world’s fastest-aging country.

The problem is worst for women, whose access to jobs and health care is limited, along with their rights to own and inherit property, it said.

The report said one in nine people, or 810 million people, are 60 or older, a figure projected to rise to one in five by 2050.

Within 10 years, those 60 and over will exceed 1 billion.