Kwaku Mawuena Dzahini is the President of Univers de solidarité et de développement (UNI.SOL.D.), and is a leader at grassroots level who works to promote the welfare of older people in Togo. Fighting to address the poverty experienced by older people in his community and country, UNI.SOL.D. not only works to provide concrete material aid to older people in the form of medicines, clothes, and food, but is an active advocate for combatting ageism and creating universal community income sources that enable older people to live independent lives of meaning and dignity.
To this end, Kwaku Mawuena Dzahini has made significant efforts to connect his local efforts through UNI.SOL.D. with international initiatives, such as participating in United Nations political processes through special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, acting as Togo’s national representative in the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA), and working in solidarity with other grassroots organisations around the world through the HelpAge International global network.
Most recently, Kwaku Mawuena Dzahini led the local coordination of a participatory video project supported by the World Health Organization, where older people from local communities were meaningfully engaged to produce their own film about ageing for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing. The project was central to the Decade’s objectives of placing older people at the centre of all work done during the Decade to foster healthy ageing, and the film enabled older people to contribute their lived experience, perspectives and expertise to conversations and decision-making processes at the highest level, including at the Human Rights Council.
Above all, Kwaku Mawuena Dzahini is a tireless leader who demonstrates that impactful work done at local level to foster healthy ageing can be connected with and influence global dialogues – illustrating that it is more than possible to ensure that the voices of older people are heard and acted upon throughout all levels of action.