Healthy Ageing: 53 Countries Adopt WHO European Strategy for 2026–2030

Adopted unanimously in Copenhagen on Thursday 29 October, WHO’s new European strategy aims to make healthy ageing a shared priority. From prevention and the transformation of care systems to tackling ageism and adapting environments, 53 Member States have committed to a common roadmap through to 2030.

• The 53 WHO European Member States have adopted a common strategy for 2026–2030.
• WHO aims to improve older people’s health and quality of life.
• Four priorities shape the strategy: prevention, care, age-friendly environments and tackling ageism.
• The plan calls for better support for carers and coordinated care pathways.
• WHO is developing indicators to monitor healthy ageing across all 53 countries.

WHO calls for a new approach to ageing

Adding years to life is one thing; being able to live them in good health is another. On 29 October 2026, the 53 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region unanimously adopted a new strategy dedicated to healthy ageing. Entitled “Ageing is living: a strategy to promote health and well-being across the life course in the WHO European Region 2026–2030”, it was approved at the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in Copenhagen. The Organization aims to prepare health systems, support services and societies for the demographic changes under way.

While increasing life expectancy is a major public health achievement, it does not necessarily guarantee better health in older age. WHO points out that “living longer does not necessarily mean living longer in good health”. The strategy therefore pursues two complementary ambitions: improving older people’s health, functional ability and quality of life today, while also investing in prevention at every stage of life so that future generations can reach older age in better circumstances.

“What matters is not simply adding years to life,” says Dr Corinne Capuano, Acting Head of WHO/Europe. She stresses the importance of enabling people to “live those years in good health”, maintain social connections and receive quality care and support when they need them. This approach places quality of life, independence and social participation at the heart of ageing policies.

Four priorities to transform health and care systems

To turn this ambition into action, the European strategy is structured around four main areas:

• Preventing health problems and maintaining abilities throughout life;
• Transforming health and long-term care systems to respond better to changing needs;
• Creating age-friendly environments that facilitate mobility, social connections and participation in community life;
• Tackling ageism and age-based discrimination, particularly in access to care and support.

Beyond these priorities, WHO calls for closer coordination between primary health care, rehabilitation, long-term care and social support. Identifying changing needs early should allow faster, more appropriate responses. Support for carers is also among the levers identified, alongside environments in which older people can maintain their independence and place in society. The Organization also champions a principle: “age alone should not determine access to the care and support a person needs”.

“Living longer is an achievement we can celebrate. But what matters is not simply adding years to life. What counts is whether people can live those years in good health, maintain connections with the people and communities that matter to them, and receive quality care and support when they need them. This is what the ‘Ageing is living’ strategy is all about.”

Dr Corinne Capuano, Acting Head of WHO/Europe

This transformation cannot rest solely on professionals and health and social care organisations. WHO stresses that healthy ageing “is shaped throughout life” and also depends on social, cultural and economic environments. It therefore calls on the health sector to lead efforts to bring all relevant sectors together around a shared responsibility. The challenge is to move beyond an approach focused on managing loss of independence and act earlier on the factors that shape health, abilities and well-being as people age.

From European strategy to public policy: the next steps

Adopting this roadmap marks the start of implementation work that WHO/Europe is already undertaking with Member States and its partners. Four levers will support its delivery: developing leaders and decision-makers, notably through the “Ageing is living” leadership programme; strengthening data and analytical capacity; supporting innovation and investment in solutions that promote healthy ageing; and establishing a European network of WHO collaborating centres specialising in healthy ageing and care. This network will pool technical expertise and help countries translate the European priorities into practical action.

Improving knowledge is another central task. WHO/Europe is developing healthy ageing profiles for each of the 53 Member States, alongside a regional dashboard. The aim is to stop limiting the assessment of population health to traditional indicators of morbidity and mortality alone. Functional ability, individuals’ intrinsic capacity and inequalities must also be considered to guide public policy more effectively. The strategy’s development involved more than 3,000 people over almost two years of consultations, including government representatives, older people, professionals, researchers and civil society members. “Their voices are reflected in the strategy countries adopted today,” said Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director of Health Systems at WHO/Europe.

Adopted at the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, held in Copenhagen from 27 to 29 October 2026, the “Ageing is living” strategy (EUR/RC76/7) forms part of the Second European Programme of Work 2026–2030, as one of its five main priorities. It also builds on WHO’s public health framework for healthy ageing. A companion publication, “Ageing is living: implementation approaches for healthy ageing and care in the WHO European Region”, explains how Member States will be supported. Through this roadmap, the Organization aims to respond to a demographic transformation that extends beyond health care alone: making healthy ageing a collective goal, involving prevention policies, care organisation, local communities and society as a whole.