Active ageing applies to both individuals and population groups. It allows people to realize  their potential for physical, social, and mental  well being throughout the life course and to participate in society according to their needs, desires and capacities, while providing them with adequate protection, security and care  when they require assistance. The word “active” refers to continuing participation in social, economic, cultural, spiritual and civic affairs, not just the ability to be physically active or to participate in the labour force. Older people who retire from work and those who are ill or live with disabilities can remain active contributors to their families, peers, communities and nations.

Determinants of Active Ageing

• Cultural values and traditions determine to a large extent how a given society views older people and the ageing process.
• Employment, which is a determinant throughout adult life greatly influences one’s financial readiness for old age. Access to high quality, dignified long-term care is particularly important in later life.
• Women’s traditional role as family caregivers may also contribute to their increased poverty and ill health in older age. Some women are forced to give up paid employment to carry out their caregiving responsibilities. Others never have access to paid employment because they work full-time in unpaid caregiving roles, looking after children, older parents, spouses who are ill and grandchildren. At the same time, boys and men are more likely to suffer debilitating injuries or death due to violence, occupational hazards, and suicide.
• Despite best efforts in health promotion and disease prevention, people are at increasing risk of developing diseases as they age. Thus access to curative services becomes indispensable.
• One of the myths of ageing is that it is too late to adopt such lifestyles in the later years. On the contrary, engaging in appropriate physical activity, healthy eating, not smoking and using alcohol and medications wisely in older age can prevent disease and functional decline, extend longevity and enhance one’s quality of life.
• Biology and genetics greatly influence how a person ages. Ageing is a set of biological processes that are genetically determined. Ageing can be defined as a progressive, generalized impairment of function resulting in a loss of adaptative response to a stress and in a growing risk of age-associated disease.

Gendered Care Giving

Entrenched stereotypes insist that men are breadwinners whilst women are homemakers and caregivers. The role of caregiver, predominately assumed by women, contributes to inequalities between the genders, with women having fewer opportunities to attain their basic level of human rights in comparison to their male counterparts. Women from poorer societies are affected more than those from developed areas as they tend to have higher hours of unpaid caregiving.

• Having responsibilities within the household, including the duty of caregiving, means girls may have less time to study, network, and socialize with peers during their younger years. In the most extreme circumstances, young women who are required to perform round-the-clock caregiving duties have no choice but to leave the education system altogether.
• Caregiving for a family member is an unpaid role. Women who cannot work as a result of their caregiving duties face financial hardships, and often depend on male family members to earn an income that can support the household. This situation contributes to the opinion that women are “second-class citizens” and widens the gap in gender inequality as women are unable to be independent.
• Excessive home responsibilities and caregiving duties means women are less likely to have time to participate in the public sphere than men. The lack of female representation in public policy-making means the needs of women are less likely to be taken into account when decisions are being made.

Road ahead

• To reduce the gender inequality caused by caregiving and household responsibilities, it is necessary for states to acknowledge that caregiving is an integral requirement for a healthy society. States must take measures that enable caregivers to be financially independent and participate in the public sphere. 
• Besides these measures, the caregiver role must be “de-feminized:” men and women must be encouraged to divide caregiving responsibilities, therefore bridging the inequality experienced between the genders.