A/HRC/42/43/Add.1 69. Older persons have different patterns of disease presentation than younger adults. The fact that they respond to treatment and therapies in different ways and frequently have complex social needs relating to their chronic medical conditions creates a geriatric imperative. While a number of universities in Uruguay offer geriatric training, for example, a graduate degree in Geriatrics at the Faculty of Medicine and a graduate degree in Geriatrics and Gerontology at the School of Nursing at the University of the Republic, attention to this crucial discipline remains insufficient and there continues to be a lack of geriatric and gerontological services. V. Conclusions and recommendations A. Overall remarks 70. Uruguay has established a strong legal framework aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of older persons and has thus consistently demonstrated its commitment nationally, but also at the regional and international levels. This commitment was reiterated in meetings at the highest level during the visit. In this regard, the Independent Expert commends the country’s leadership in upholding the human rights of older persons and acknowledges that Uruguay was the first country to ratify the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons.26 71. The Independent Expert welcomes the adoption of the National Ageing and Old Age Plan 2016–2019. She notes the achievements of Uruguay in this regard such as the high level of social security coverage, making it the country in the region with the lowest incidence of poverty among older persons. It has also made significant progress with the National Integrated Health System, which aims at ensuring universal coverage and codifying older persons’ right to care. This attests to the political will and determination to further improve the situation of older persons and enable them to fully enjoy all their human rights. In view of the progress at the normative and conceptual levels, it is regrettable that this commitment does not always translate into effective implementation of policies, owing to the insufficient resources allocated to meet the needs of older persons. Consequently, the Independent Expert encourages the Government to continue to deliver on its pledge to put older persons first and calls for the allocation of more resources, including financial resources, to consolidate the human rights protection response to their needs. 72. She commends the Government, and in particular the National Institute for Older Persons (INMAYORES), for the valuable data collection and analysis on the status of the enjoyment of human rights by older persons in Uruguay, which serves as a basis for further targeted interventions in the years ahead. She nonetheless emphasizes the need to step up these efforts, hoping that this will lead to fostered mainstreaming of the rights of older persons into national policies and all government planning in line with the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons. 73. The Independent Expert notes the importance of the National Institute for Older Persons as the lead agency, together with its Consultative Council, in the coordination, design and evaluation of social policies aimed at older persons. While recognizing that INMAYORES is a relatively recent body, she urges the Government to further strengthen it and notes the need for an interdisciplinary and interinstitutional forum at the national level. She recommends that the existing institutional infrastructure be elevated to an interministerial coordination body, on a metalevel, with lead competence on ageing issues, to ensure a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach to ageing. It is essential that the independence of such an interministerial coordination mechanism be ensured in mainstreaming a human 26 12 See www.oas.org/en/sla/dil/docs/inter_american_treaties_A-70_human_rights_older_persons.pdf.