Gender, age, and exclusion: A challenge to community organisations in Lima, Peru

Abstract

The designation of 1999 as the United Nations International Year for the Older Person has brought the issues of ageing and old age to the attention of policy-makers and governments. However, despite a series of recent international reports1 which demonstrate growing awareness among international development organisations of the need to focus on elderly people worldwide, Peru's elderly population continues to be marginalised from formal support and is, therefore, increasingly dependent on informal social organisations to meet its needs.