Pol J Public Health 2016;126(2): 55-58 © 2016 Medical University of Lublin. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonComercial-No Derivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/) Original Article Bartłomiej Drop 1 , marian jęDrych 2 , agnieszka Barańska 2 , ewelina Firlej 3 , mariola janiszewska 3 International strategies in the face of aging population Abstract Introduction. Population aging poses many important economic, social, and health challenges to the modern world. This ap- plies mostly to developed countries. The phenomenon requires joint action of Member States of the European Union, the World Health Organization, the United Nations, the Council of Europe as well as some unifed strategies for the actions taken by these entities. Aim. The aim of this study was to demonstrate international strategies implemented in the face of demographic changes. Material and methods. The authors analyzed the documents outlining strategies for both organizations and entities, as well as recommendations for international scientifc consultation on strategy of the aging population. Results. Analysis of changes happening to the oldest age groups showed the need for cooperation between countries. An overview of the strategies being taken at the moment and those that had been undertaken previously by international entities can contribute to modify the arrangements of the elderly; in order to improve the living conditions in multidimensional aspect. Conclusions. The key to achieving the desired efect through implementing the policies of individual countries is to monitor them on a regular basis. Keywords: strategies for action, aging, international entities. be considered a relatively young country – the number of peo- ple over 65 would reach 35% of the overall population, which puts Poland in a position similar to Romania (the second place in the EU, frst was taken by Latvia, with 1% more) [3]. European Union is a political, economic and social project which stems from various concepts and theories concerning implementing various processes improving the quality of life [4]. The WHO provides huge contribution in promoting health among elderly people. Protecting health at every age has been paid much attention to – there were many written works and recommendations published, focusing on protecting it at eve- ry stage. For instance, in 1999, the WHO published a list of conditions to be fulflled for the aging process to be the least burdensome as possible [5]. On the global scale, the fact that many countries have adopted the recommendations and com- mitments published during the most important conferences organized by the UN remains important [6]. AIM The aim of this work was to show the international strate- gies for actions to be undertaken due to demographic changes happening. IntRoduCtIon Societies around the world are aging, which translates into an increased number of elderly individuals in the overall structure of the society. This is why the issue of the elderly members of the society sparks so much interest these days. Ac- cording to a WHO report published in 1999, there were some 580 million people over 60 and over a half of them were resi- dents of developed countries. Various estimations suggest that in 2020 the overall number of elderly people would exceed 1 billion, which translates into 30% of the whole population [1,2]. In 2009, Central Statistical Ofce (GUS in Polish) released Population estimates for 2008-2035, which suggests that over the next 20 years, the structure of the Polish society would change in a signifcant way. Progress in medicine along with improved living conditions translates into increased life ex- pectancy. Yet, the fertility rates have been decreasing for many years. Due to that, during the next two decades the overall population would tend to diminish and the society would tend to age at a quicker rate. It needs emphasizing that the aging rate is very high in Poland, when compared against other EU countries. During the next 50 years, Poland would no longer doI: 10.1515/pjph-2016-0011 1 Chair and Department of Public Health, Medical University of Lublin, Poland 2 Department of Mathematics and Medical Biostatistics, Medical University of Lublin, Poland 3 Chair of Public Health, Medical University of Lublin, Poland