The birth of the parliamentary Intergroup for active aging was announced today, promoted on the initiative of Senator Ignazio Zullo (Fdl) and Deputy Paolo Ciani (Pd-Idp), the latter already involved in the issue in his previous role as Councilor regional in Lazio. The press conference to present the Intergroup, held today in the Senate, was organized in collaboration with HappyAgeing – the Italian Alliance for Active Aging.
“The birth of the Intergroup comes at a crucial moment for issues related to active aging – underlines Michele Conversano, president of the HappyAgeing Technical-Scientific Committee -. The bill delegates policies in favor of the elderly, in fact, in article 3 commits the government, by January 2024, to adopt one or more legislative decrees to promote the dignity and autonomy of elderly people, active aging and the prevention of frailty in this segment of the population, whose health and protection also pass through vaccination not only against seasonal flu, but also against some other very dangerous pathologies for people over 65. The bill in question was definitively approved on Tuesday 21 March by the Chamber of Deputies, in the text identical to that transmitted by the Senate We hope to see efforts concentrated on these aspects and, therefore, on the adoption of legislative decrees by the competent ministries i of the Intergroup to whose members we wish good luck”.
“The countries that are part of the EU should create the conditions for a tangible and healthy active aging of their inhabitants”, says Senator Zullo of the X Commission for Social Affairs, Health, Public and Private Employment, Social Security of the Senate. “For this reason, we who represent Italy must also commit ourselves to ensure that policies that go in this direction are concretely implemented, focusing in particular on areas relevant to the elderly such as immunisation, nutrition, physical activity, screening and the correct use of medicines” .
“Active aging – claims Ciani, secretary of the XII Social Affairs Commission of the Chamber – implies the idea that old age should not be seen as a moment of decline and isolation, but as a phase of life in which it is possible to continue to maintain a active role in society by preventing situations of isolation and marginalization and guaranteeing a good quality of life.All this – he continues – in the most total respect for the person and his free determinations, which it is necessary to safeguard also and above all in the moments in which the person finds himself in moments of weakness, which certainly is old age. In this perspective, the same fundamental health and welfare aspects should be considered only as part of policies towards the elderly, thus avoiding being the only dimension in which the elderly are considered” .
“The birth of the parliamentary Intergroup – comments Francesco Macchia of HappyAgeing – is important news, because it highlights the attention of the parliamentarians of the XIX Legislature for a phenomenon that is radically changing our society and which must be governed but, above all, valued at best: the progressive aging of the population. Furthermore, the initiative represents an example of good politics because it sees parliamentarians of opposing political alignments collaborate on an issue of such high social importance. HappyAgeing can only be satisfied for this important step which can bring the needs of such a large segment of our population into the heart of institutional and political activity”, he concludes.
