SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Countries need
to make an
institutional and datadriven
commitment
to the well-being of
older people
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Older countries such as Japan and the Republic
of Korea used to be migrant source countries.
But both in recent years, having increasingly
seen the need to attract younger people to their
workforces, have amended and adopted laws and
regulations to ease the flow of immigrants to
their own countries.
SUSTAINING HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT ACROSS
LONGER LIFESPANS
Developing Asia-Pacific countries have made
significant strides in improving human development.
But rapid ageing poses potentially
serious challenges to progress without appropriate
policy actions, taken urgently. Ageing
also offers opportunities that should not be
squandered. Countries need to manage their
resources—human and otherwise—to ensure
that they develop in ways that sustain progress
and open opportunities for all segments of their
populations, young and old.
Drawing on Agenda 2030 and the three
pillars of the Madrid International Plan of
Action on Ageing, strategies to guide ageing
should be grounded in the active empowerment
and engagement of older persons, where they
have central roles in decisions on the issues they
face. All strategies should be underpinned by
core principles such as equity, sufficiency and
sustainability.
It will be possible to manage rapid aging
while sustaining human development. This
will require a number of complementary policy
reforms. Measures will be needed on both an
individual level, such as through preventive
health and financial preparedness, and on the
societal level, on key issues such as retirement age
and the design of pension systems. The private
sector and civil society will have roles to play,
such as in extending services and pioneering
innovations.
MAKE AGEING A TOP POLICY ISSUE,
BACKED BY INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
Enact national ageing policies: An ageing population
is inevitable, underlining that it must
be prioritized in national development policies
and plans. These should uphold the rights of
older persons to participate in the development
process, and to have access to all the capabilities
and opportunities on which human development
depends, with a special emphasis on quality
mental and physical health and long-term care.
Policies can cover a wide range of issues relevant
to older persons and, more generally, an ageing
population, such as using community-based
approaches to encourage the meaningful participation
of senior citizens in decision-making,
sharing information about preventative health
care and protecting the rights of older people.
Special attention should go to groups facing
age discrimination combined with other forms,
particularly women.
Equally important is to adopt a national
strategy or plan for ageing economies. Countries
will change in fundamental ways as age
composition shifts. Ageing will impact the size
of the labour force, tax revenues, GDP, public
expenditures on health care and pensions, and
other key macroeconomic indicators that affect
not only older people, but the population at
large. A long-term vision and planning can help
countries secure a healthier, more economically
stable future. Plans will need to be backed by
necessary budget resources and oriented around
clear goals. Countries that start investing now
in pension and health care, in particular, stand
a better chance of sustaining and achieving
additional human development gains.
Mainstream ageing issues and establish relevant
institutional mechanisms. While many Asia-Pacific
countries have enacted ageing-related laws
and regulations, implementation remains limited.
Countries need to ensure policies and concerns
linked to ageing are understood and reflected
across a variety of government actions. Entities
housed under the ministries of labour, health
and social welfare, among others, might serve
as instruments to carry forward this process.
Government institutions dedicated to the
well-being of older people can help ensure that
policy promises get off the ground. They can
advocate for the elderly, focus public attention
on their challenges as well as the positive
social and economic benefits they offer, and