On 5 August, Farzanegan Foundation Portal, the joint initiative of UNFPA and State Welfare Organization was officially launched. Dr. Salmannejad, Head of Secretariat of National Council of Older Persons, opened the ceremony explained the importance of this portal which has brought together all NGOs with help of technology for understanding and fulfilling the needs of older persons.
H.E. Dr. Mohseni Bandpey, Head of state welfare organization stated that aging is a priority in SWO and better understanding of older persons needs and hence is conducting the first National Survey of older persons in Iran.
He also added that the portal provides various services for older persons in the area of tourism, business, discounts and social services.
Dr. Leila Joudane, UNFPA Representative in her speech emphasized that, the number of older people aged 60 years old and above in Iran will rise from 8 million to near 14 million in 2030, and then reach to almost 30 million in 2050, which constitute one third of total population. This is indeed a rapid change. This is why; we must now turn our focus from merely helping people reach old age to helping them reach a happy old age, She also said that we believe investment in the current young and middle age population, to be more empowered, self-sufficient and independent are the most effective response to population ageing. This is a “life-course approach” to population ageing.
At the end of ceremony, after the Q&A with presence of journalists, the website was officially launched by Dr. Joudane and H.E. Dr.Mohseni Bandpey.
