# UNG226-27 - 1993 Aging with Dignity

These stamps highlight the Vienna International Plan of Action of Aging, adopted by the General Assembly in 1982. Today, greater numbers of people are reaching old age; thus, as a portion of the total population, this group is the largest it has ever been, Medical, social, political, and economic structures are enormously stretched by the needs of the elderly and traditional family support systems are severely stressed or lacking. Dependent elders lose their self-esteem and dignity and younger generations increasingly perceive them as burdens. The Vienna Plan was formulated on the belief that the best solution lies in delaying the start of dependency.

 

The first Geneva stamp addresses social welfare; the other, income security and employment. Guaranteed appropriate minimum income and part-time work opportunities increases elders’ ability to remain independent. So too, do community-based services which create active and useful roles for them with other generations.