A/HRC/41/32 implementation of the New Urban Agenda, in particular the adoption of age-responsive approaches to urban and territorial development, UN-Habitat has been increasingly engaging with partners working with older persons and persons with disabilities, among others. 49. Since 2010, WHO has been promoting a global network of age-friendly cities and communities to stimulate and enable cities, communities and other subnational levels of government around the world to become increasingly age-friendly. Through the network, WHO seeks to support members in becoming more age-friendly by: (a) inspiring change, through showing what can be done and how it can be done; (b) connecting cities and communities worldwide to facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences; and (c) supporting cities and communities to find appropriate innovative and evidence-based solutions. Within the framework of the network, WHO has been organizing several capacity-building programmes and activities, including the age-friendly environments mentorship programme, which was launched in 2018 to develop leaders for the next decade of efforts towards age-friendly cities and communities and to build skills that are important for developing age-friendly environments, such as building strategic partnerships, advocating for older persons, facilitating participatory processes, understanding and addressing inequalities, conducting monitoring and evaluation activities and analysis and developing policies. Furthermore, in partnership with the International Federation on Ageing, WHO hosts workshops and webinars on age-friendly environments and key emerging topics in that regard, such as indicators for age-friendliness, reducing inequities and age-friendly environments in rural and remote contexts. I. Access to care, health and support services 50. As populations continue to age and experience increasing longevity, the number of older persons in need of long-term care and other support services is expected to grow significantly. During the third review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, Member States identified the improvement of health and care services as a priority in all regions (E/CN.5/2018/4, para. 59). Access to long-term care and other services is an essential element of the right of older persons to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to social security and the right to an adequate standard of living, among others. However, currently there are significant gaps and challenges in terms of legal and policy frameworks and the availability and quality of care services, and there is a critical shortage of trained personnel.11 Many countries rely on informal care that is often provided in the home, without adequate support, by caregivers who are usually unpaid female family members or friends and whose care work may limit their ability to engage in paid work. 51. WHO has identified three approaches that will be crucial in establishing effective long-term and palliative care to meet the needs of older persons: (a) establishing the foundations necessary for a system of long-term care; (b) building and maintaining a sustainable and appropriately trained workforce; and (c) ensuring the quality of long-term care. With support from 30 experts in geriatric medicine, WHO developed evidence-based guidelines on integrated care for older persons,12 with a particular focus on less resourced settings. Targeted at non-specialist health workers, the guidelines provide guidance on home-based interventions for older persons to prevent, reverse or slow declines in intrinsic capacity. Since 2018, WHO has been providing technical support and advice to countries for the adoption and implementation of the guidelines. 52. From 2015 to 2017, the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions conducted a project to improve the human rights of older persons in long-term care, with 11 12 See, for example, Xenia Scheil-Adlung, Long-term Care Protection for Older Persons: A Review of Coverage Deficits in 46 Countries, Extension of social security: working paper No. 50 (ILO, Geneva, 2015). WHO, Integrated Care for Older People: Guidelines on Community-level Interventions to Manage Declines in Intrinsic Capacity (Geneva, 2017). 13