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water, shelter, clothing and health care through the provision of income,
family and community support and self-help." The Committee attaches great
importance to this principle, which demands for older persons the rights
contained in article 11 of the Covenant.
33.
Recommendations 19 to 24 of the International Plan of Action on Ageing
emphasize that housing for the elderly must be viewed as more than mere
shelter and that, in addition to the physical, it has psychological and social
significance which should be taken into account. Accordingly, national
policies should help elderly persons to continue to live in their own homes as
long as possible, through the restoration, development and improvement of
homes and their adaptation to the ability of those persons to gain access to
and use them (recommendation 19). Recommendation 20 stresses the need for
urban rebuilding and development planning and law to pay special attention to
the problems of the ageing, assisting in securing their social integration.
Recommendation 22 draws attention to the need to take account of the
functional capacity of the elderly in order to provide them with a better
living environment and facilitate mobility and communication through the
provision of adequate means of transport.
Right to physical and mental health (art. 12)
34.
With a view to the realization of the right of older persons to the
enjoyment of a satisfactory standard of physical and mental health, in
accordance with article 12, paragraph 1, of the Covenant, States parties
should take account of the content of recommendations 1 to 17 of the
International Plan of Action on Ageing, which focus entirely on providing
guidelines on health policy to preserve the health of the elderly and take a
comprehensive view, ranging from prevention and rehabilitation to the care of
the terminally ill.
35.
Clearly, the growing number of chronic, degenerative diseases and the
high hospitalization costs they involve cannot be dealt with only by curative
treatment. In this regard, States parties should bear in mind that
maintaining health into old age requires investments during the entire
life-span, basically through the adoption of healthy lifestyles (food,
exercise, elimination of tobacco and alcohol, etc.). Prevention, through
regular checks suited to the needs of older persons, plays a decisive role, as
does rehabilitation, by maintaining the functional capacities of older
persons, with a resulting decrease in the cost of investments in health care
and social services.
Right to education and culture (arts. 13-15)
36.
Article 13, paragraph 1, of the Covenant recognizes the right of everyone
to education. In the case of older persons, this right must be approached
from two different and complementary points of view: (a) the right of older
persons to benefit from educational programmes; (b) making the know-how and
experience of older persons available to younger generations.
37.
With regard to the former, States parties should take account of:
(a) the recommendation in principle 4 of the United Nations Principles for
Older Persons to the effect that older persons should have access to suitable
education programmes and training and should, therefore, on the basis of their