Mona Ageing and Wellness Centre

-PAHO\WHO Collaborating Centre for Ageing and Health

In Latin American and Caribbean countries, the proportion and the absolute numbers of people aged 60 and over will rise steadily. Currently there are 41 million older persons in the region and by 2025 this number will increase to 57 million. This trend of rapid ageing is projected to be sustained well into the future. By 2050 there will be an estimated 86 million people aged 60 years and over

Ageing is multifaceted and requires that all sectors of the society be prepared for the challenges of population ageing. The WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre on Ageing and Health established at Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in 1997 has played a leading role in the implementation of a research agenda that seeks to generate information on ageing in the Caribbean. The research and information produced subsequently have been instrumental in guiding both policy and teaching, nationally and internationally. For example, the Integrated Response To Rapid Ageing (INTRA I) research project, collaboratively facilitated by WHO and the Dutch Government generated valuable information on the situation and country profiles of Caribbean nations with regard to the elderly.