Most individuals now reach old age, and the proportion of elderly persons in the Member States of the WHO's South-East Asia Region will continue to increase over the years. This demographic shift to a large proportion of elderly persons will challenge the existing public health and social services in the Member States. The focus on ageing is not only to prolong life but also to improve the quality of life of elderly persons.rnHealthy ageing is a process of optimizing opportunities for physical, social and mental health to enable the elderly persons to take an active part in society without discrimination and to enjoy an independent and good life.rnThis Regional Strategy for Healthy Ageing has been formulated to assist Member States to establish core interventions for promoting and strengthening healthy ageing with the overall goal to promote healthy ageing and care of the aged throughout the life-course.