Last
week from September 30 to October 2, Kenya put ageing at the centre of national
attention. Nairobi hosted conferences, scientific discussions and the Silver
Dignity Walk. Across the counties, older persons participated in medical camps,
sporting activities, cultural events, social protection initiatives and
community engagements.
It was a celebration with pomp, colour and substance.
But
the real test begins now.
The banners have come down, the conference halls are empty and the cameras have moved on. Has anything changed for Kenya’s ageing and older persons?
The International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) 2026 celebrations were important because they helped move ageing and older persons beyond the narrow frame of dependency and illness. Older persons were presented not merely as beneficiaries of social protection, but as citizens, rights-holders, caregivers, professionals, entrepreneurs, community leaders and custodians of knowledge and culture.
The scientific and technical conference at the Kenya Institute of Special Education brought together academia, policymakers, researchers, health professionals, civil society, development partners and older persons to confront some of the country's most pressing ageing and older persons’ questions.
How do we provide appropriate geriatric care? How do we respond to dementia and non-communicable diseases? How do we support family caregivers? How do we protect older persons from abuse and discrimination? How do we make social protection more responsive? How do we prepare a workforce capable of supporting an ageing population? But, more importantly, how do we create a social structure with institutions supportive of ageing and older person’s needs?
The
Silver Dignity Walk provided the public face of the celebrations, while
sporting and recreational activities challenged the assumption that older
persons are synonymous with inactivity. The intergenerational village created
space for young and older people to discuss caregiving, mentorship, retirement,
technology and the responsibilities that bind generations together.
Beyond Nairobi, counties organised health screenings, medical camps, psychosocial support, provision of assistive devices, social protection registration, sporting activities and community events.
This county dimension is critical. Kenya's ageing story is being written in rural villages, informal settlements, urban neighbourhoods and farming communities—not only in conference halls in Nairobi. Yet celebration alone cannot address the structural challenges facing older persons.
Kenya must now move from commemoration to implementation. Healthy ageing must become part of national and county development planning. Geriatric and gerontology education must be strengthened. Research must generate reliable evidence on the health, economic and social circumstances of older persons.
Caregivers need recognition and support. Social protection must respond to the realities of longer lives. And Kenya must confront ageism, elder abuse and discrimination wherever they occur.
Most importantly, older persons must have a voice in decisions affecting their lives.
One potentially important step has already emerged from IDOP 2026. At the conclusion of the conference, an Academic Technical Working Group on Healthy Ageing and Older Persons was established, bringing together academia and related organisations and institutions working on ageing.
Its value will not be measured by the number of institutions represented around the table, but by what the group actually delivers.
It should therefore have a clear, time-bound action agenda.
First, it should develop a national framework for strengthening healthy-ageing and gerontology education, identifying the competencies required by doctors, nurses, social workers, counsellors, therapists, community health workers and other professionals serving older persons.
Second, it should map existing ageing-related courses, research programmes and training institutions and identify gaps requiring new curricula, courses or specialisations.
Third, it should establish a collaborative research agenda focused on Kenya's most urgent ageing questions—including long-term care, dementia, elder abuse, caregiving, social protection, age-friendly communities, healthy lifestyles and the economic contribution of older persons.
Fourth, it should create
mechanisms for translating research into policy and practice. Universities
should not merely produce papers; evidence should reach ministries, counties,
health facilities, communities and organisations working with older persons.
Fifth, the group should develop partnerships with government, professional associations, civil society, development partners and older persons' organisations to mobilise resources and scale promising interventions.
Sixth, older persons must have
a meaningful place in its work—not merely as subjects of research but as
partners in identifying problems, designing solutions and evaluating
programmes.
And finally, the group should publish an annual State of Healthy Ageing and Older Persons in Kenya report, providing evidence on progress, persistent gaps and priorities for action.
That would give the country something more valuable than another annual conference: an accountability mechanism for ageing. The question after IDOP should therefore not be, “How successfully did Kenya celebrate older persons?” It should be: What will be different in the life of an older Kenyan because we celebrated them in 2026?
The pomp and colour were welcome. The visibility was necessary. The conversations were long overdue. But dignity cannot be seasonal. The task now is to turn the energy of IDOP 2026 into policy, research, training, investment and measurable improvements in the lives of older persons.
Kenya has celebrated ageing. Now it must organise itself to age well.
