A/HRC/18/37 V. Conclusions and recommendations 70. In a report of this length, it is impossible to address all of the important issues, but the Special Rapporteur notes with urgency the present demographic changes leading to a rapidly increasing number of older persons. Society should move beyond seeking simply healthy ageing for its citizens, and begin working towards active and dignified ageing, which should be planned and supported just like any other stage of the individual’s life course. Planning for old age implies putting in place diagnostic and prevention services at the primary healthcare level long before ageing sets in. The pursuit of active and dignified ageing for older persons requires re-framing society’s concept of ageing to focus on the continued participation of older persons in social, economic, cultural and civic affairs, as well as their continuous contributions to society longer into their lives. The promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons should be of concern to everyone because ageing is a process which everyone will undergo. Older persons are especially vulnerable as a group because of stereotyped perceptions of the group as a “lapsed” segment of society. However, as life expectancy increases and medicine improves, older persons stay active longer than ever before, both in terms of occupational and non-occupational activities. Encouraging older persons to remain physically, politically, socially and economically active for as long as possible will benefit not only the individual, but also the society as a whole. 71. The Special Rapporteur recommends: (a) Recognizing ageing as a lifelong process, a reality which State policy, legislation and resource allocation should reflect so that health-care services, including diagnostic and prevention services, are available and accessible to a person before becoming old to allow for healthy ageing; (b) Ensuring that the right to the highest attainable standard of health shapes, and is integrated into, relevant national and international policies concerning ageing and older persons. Health facilities, goods and services should be made available, accessible, affordable and acceptable to older persons, and be of good quality; (c) Implementing the right-to-health framework to ensure shifting the discourse surrounding older persons from a needs-based perspective to a rights-based approach, which enables greater realization of the right to health of older persons; (d) Encouraging the establishment and support of networks of older persons in order to ensure their participation in the development and improvement of social protection and health care, which recognizes and ensures the enjoyment of the right to health; (e) Establishing a system of social protection that affords older persons access to long-term care, whether institutional or home-based, which ensures that abuse or violations of rights do not take place; (f) Putting in place policies and procedures for reporting, addressing and preventing abuse of older persons; (g) Instituting mechanisms to raise awareness and train medical professionals, non-medical carers and the wider community on the treatment of older person, and to prevent and address their abuse; (h) Developing international guidelines and national systems to regulate and monitor hospice-care practices to ensure that the elderly are supported in making 18