NEW YORK CITY, March 31– The first female Governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Yeda Crusius, met with Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, President of The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), staff, and representatives from the United Nations and the New York City Health Department to discuss New York and Rio Grande do Sul’s efforts to create age-friendly cities.

Governor Crusius’s administration convened the first age-friendly task force in Brazil to look at enhancing the quality of life for their older population. According to Governor Crusius, life expectancy in Rio Grande do Sul is among the highest in Brazil and the aging population is very active, making programs for age-friendliness a priority for her administration. Currently, 12 percent of the state’s population of 11 million is over 65 years old.

This timely meeting coincides with NYAM’s project, Age-Friendly NYC, launched with the City Council last July and endorsed by Mayor Bloomberg this year as a major city plan. Guided by a protocol developed by the World Health Organization, the initiative will assess the New York City’s age-friendliness in eight key areas from housing to transportation. In the spring a blueprint for improvement will be presented as recommendations for policy makers. Thirty-three cities around the world have participated in the initiative, including Rio de Janeiro. New York was one of two U.S. cities chosen to be part of the project.

Yeda Crusius is an economist and served as the Minister of Planning, Budgeting and Coordination in 1993. She was elected as a representative in Rio Grande do Sul in 1994. She was one of fifteen people voted “Economist of the Year” by the Economics Order of Sao Paolo with Istoé magazine. She has served as President of the Latin American Union of Women and a member of the Latin American Parliament Committee on Economy, Finance and the External Deficit, which works to integrate the countries of South America. She was elected Governor of Rio Grande do Sul in 2006.

The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Its research, education, community engagement, and evidence-based advocacy seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The impact of these initiatives reaches into neighborhoods in New York City, across the country, and around the world. It works with community based organizations, academic institutions, corporations, the media, and government to catalyze and contribute to changes that promote health.

Posted on 04/04/2008

Contact:
Malini Doddamani
Director of Communications
mdoddamani@nyam.org
212.822.7285