International Ties

Positive and active ageing: Asia-Pacific to lead the way

By Noeleen Heyzer (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-01 09:06

Reports in Asia-Pacific have begun to emerge of very old persons who died in their homes without anyone realizing for a long while. Facing infirmed old age in penury. Dying all alone. These are fears that may be more real than many would care to admit.

The Asian and Pacific region is home to over half of the world's population aged 60 years and over. Thus, today's observance of the International Day of Older Persons has a special significance for our region.

Asia-Pacific is at the forefront of the global phenomenon of population ageing: its number of older persons is rising at a pace unprecedented and a scale unmatched by that of any other region in the world. While this demographic transition took 100 years or more to occur in Europe, countries in our region are now going through this process within the span of three decades or less, giving them less time to address its impact.

The number of older persons in Asia-Pacific is estimated to triple from 415 million at present to 1.25 billion by 2050. Older persons will constitute up to 25 per cent by 2050, from only about 10 per cent now.

These changes are occurring as a result of major social achievements, such as increasing life expectancy, declining levels of mortality and fertility, population ageing. However, the steady increase of older age groups in national populations, both in absolute numbers and in relation to the working-age population, is emerging as a new development issue for many countries in Asia and the Pacific.

Population ageing has profound and far-reaching social, economic and health-related implications for a country's development process. This is due to the increasing demand that the population of older persons will place on health care, family and social support systems, and social security. The implications are accentuated when population ageing occurs in countries, which are not as advanced as the developed countries were, when they reached comparable levels in the demographic transition process.

Timely policy responses are needed for making the vital social and economic adjustments to respond to on-going demographic changes. Delaying those responses would be even more costly than introducing them in good time.

Without addressing the needs of older persons, the Millennium Development Goals, particularly those related to poverty and health, will not be achieved.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) serves as the intergovernmental platform to strengthen regional response and enhance Government capacity to design and implement policies that empower and protect older persons. ESCAP advocates the following top priorities for collective action:

Tackling poverty in old age. Older persons, particularly women and the “oldest old” (persons aged 80 and above), tend to be poorer than the younger population. In developing Asia-Pacific countries, only about 30 percent of older persons receive some form of a pension. Thus, the majority has to grapple with economic insecurity in old age. Some countries in the region have made significant efforts to extend pension coverage. For instance, India's new pension scheme aims to include informal sector workers. China recently began implementing a subsidized contributory program for farmers. Long-term solutions must include a process of “universalization” of social protection, including old-age pensions.

In the meantime, many older persons are deprived of income-earning opportunities, even when they are still energetic and productive. It is thus important for governments to consider the productive engagement of all older persons who want to work and are able to do so.

Adding life to old age. Societies that already face rapid ageing are now recognizing the urgency of life long preparation for active ageing. Providing the space and time for everyone, over the course of their lives, to engage in some form of physical exercise and to have access to affordable, nutritious food is a major public policy decision that will save enormous human, social and financial costs. Furthermore, there is a critical need for all infrastructure development to anticipate the barrier-free needs of ageing populations for continued freedom of movement and productive participation in society.

Enhancing health care and social services for older persons. Few health systems in the region have been adapted to address the health care needs of older persons. Governments need to orient national health systems to the changing demographic profile. Health system and social service capacity must be strengthened for supporting older persons, especially those living alone in the community and those caring for older persons who themselves may also be older.

Addressing negative social attitudes towards old persons. Not so long ago, veneration of old age, elders and their wisdom and values characterized most Asian and Pacific societies. However, this has been swept aside by a new premium on being young, quick and slick. Cases of abuse and neglect of

older dependants are emerging, as are discrimination and violence against older persons. Ironically, it has become necessary for governments to develop policies and legal frameworks that safeguard the rights of older persons. In those societies that are increasingly structured to facilitate older persons' continued participation in the life and well-being of their communities, we see older persons actively engaged, including in a range of useful voluntary jobs -- for example, as senior advisors, road safety wardens for school children, or as health and sanitation teams that keep public spaces clean. The mass media certainly has a role in fostering a more positive perception of older persons by highlighting their wisdom and value to society.

Home to the largest proportion of the world's population of older persons, the Asian and Pacific region should lead the way in treasuring this social capital. It needs to demonstrate ways of building societies characterized by intergenerational caring, active ageing, and older persons' continuous

involvement in the life of their communities.

Today is the 20th International Day of Older Persons -- let us mark the advancement of Asian and Pacific societies by working to ensure that the years of life gained for each and everyone are truly worth living.

The author is under-secretary-general of the United Nations and executive secretary of ESCAP