2025 in Review: A Year of Resilience and Global Impact for Older People

Despite the decline in global aid budgets, we have continued to respond to the needs of older people across many sectors and geographies and supported their inclusion and active participation wherever possible.

From championing the rights of older people to driving inclusive humanitarian action and climate leadership, HelpAge’s achievements this year reflect our ability to drive meaningful change through advocacy, partnership, and innovative programming on a global scale.

• • • Friendship Bench DC: HelpAge USA’s Friendship Bench DC program supported people of all ages in Washington, DC, who visited a trained Grandparent at one of our 15 host partner locations to talk through life’s challenges in a safe, confidential, and non-judgmental space. We also published a new independent evaluation, which concluded that Friendship Bench DC successfully bridges gaps in mental health access through culturally grounded, intergenerational peer support.
    • Voices of older people on healthy aging: HelpAge USA, in partnership with global network members, facilitated community “voice” workshops in seven countries on the topics of healthy aging and recommendations articulated in the Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity. The workshops highlighted clearly the gap between some of the aspirations of the Global Roadmap and the lived realities of older people in low- and middle-income countries. Key insights were published in a new National Academy of Medicine Perspectives commentary, titled “From Frameworks to Action: Localizing Global Health for Older People Through Community Training,” demonstrating how global principles can be translated into community-level action. The work contributed to tangible policy impact, including the integration of older people into Rwanda’s national Community Health Workers Guide.
    • Age-inclusive humanitarian action: HelpAge’s Age Inclusion Specialists drove critical change in humanitarian responses by ensuring older people are included and their voices are heard in response systems. We hosted a webinar attended by policymakers, humanitarian officials, and advocates to share good practices and a report documenting the impact of the Age Inclusion Specialists in multiple countries.
    • Older women at the forefront: HelpAge was proud to host a side event at the 69th session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), the UN’s annual global meeting on women, that brought together global leaders and advocates alongside one of our Friendship Bench DC Grandparents for a powerful conversation on gender equality, aging, and older women’s leadership. The event, titled Beijing+30: Older Women as Trailblazers, Then and Now, highlighted progress since the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women and the work still ahead. A dedicated high-level meeting on older women’s empowerment has now been confirmed for CSW70 in 2026.
    • Linking climate action, aging, and community leadership: On Earth Day 2025, HelpAge USA co-hosted a global webinar with the University of Southern California’s Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, spotlighting the intersection of climate change, aging, and community-led solutions. Featuring Friendship Bench DC Grandparents alongside global examples, the event emphasized older people’s leadership in advancing climate resilience, mental health, and community action.
    • Climate justice: HelpAge now holds a strategic voice in global climate change through securing official observer membership with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body for assessing science related to climate change. HelpAge also co-organized a side event and a photo exhibition at the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil, expanding HelpAge’s influence in climate policy.
    • A UN convention on the rights of older people: The UN Human Rights Council established an intergovernmental working group to draft a new, legally binding international convention, following decades of advocacy by older people and HelpAge network members seeking to address discrimination, neglect, and systemic ageism worldwide.
    • Localization: As part of our ongoing localization process, HelpAge supported local transitions in Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Vietnam, empowering local actors so that they have the power to influence decisions and prioritize the needs of the communities they serve.