Older persons and migration

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It is important to collect, process and report data on older persons in the migration context to improve policy and planning. These endeavors will also support the achievement of ageing-related United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as protecting the human rights of all people of all ages by “leaving no one behind”, and the commitment to address issues of ageing in the 21st century in the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, which is based on the Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health, and builds on the Political Declaration and Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.

Currently, several migration data sources provide migration data disaggregated by age. Nevertheless, given the extensive attention to help the most vulnerable groups of migrants, namely women and children, data on the older migrant population are only occasionally prepared and used. Collecting and disaggregating migration data by age is not sufficient to tackle the challenges faced by older people in a migration context. Older persons in migration contexts are at risk of being overlooked, which might perpetuate vulnerabilities and inequalities. In addition, there is a lack of data on older persons left behind and their needs.