Following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented global levels of ageing, an increasing number of countries have prioritised health and ageing issues in their national strategies and policymaking in their attempts to achieve the recommendations inherent in the United Nation’s Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At regional and city levels, there is an urgent need for local authorities to develop a set of guidelines and frameworks to guide the realisation of healthy and age-friendly cities in order to promote the sustainable development, enhance wellbeing of older people and ensure that healthy and active ageing remain accessible, friendly and inclusive for all, particularly for vulnerable and frail older persons, so that surely ‘no one is left behind’.

Against this background, INIA and the Beijing SUC Institute have been working on the World Healthy & Positive Ageing City Certification Project which is based upon the World Healthy & Positive Ageing City Evaluation Criteria constructed by the International Expert Committee of Active Ageing and Age-Friendly Cities. Based upon INIA’s Age-Friendliness and UN SDGs principles, the World Healthy & Positive Ageing City Evaluation Criteria integrates the WHO Healthy City indicator system, UNEP Guidelines for Sustainable Cities and Communities, as well as ISO related standards. The World Healthy & Positive Ageing City Evaluation Criteria bases the definition of a healthy and positive ageing city on nine primary indicators and some 60 secondary indicators that cover various aspects of ecological resource endowment, culture and natural heritage, public spaces and housing, environmental sustainability, health promotion, transportation and accessibility, financial literacy and sustainability, safety and resilience, as well as urban management and inclusiveness.

Currently, INIA is working on an online platform for pilot testing and certification of the International Network of Age-Friendly and Liveable Cities and to set regional liaison offices for pilot testing and certification. Cities that pass the regional preliminary review and International Expert Committee of Active Ageing and Age-Friendly Cities’ final review and qualify as a World Healthy & Positive Ageing City will be issued a certificate that recognises such a key milestone.