Countries reveal different approaches to the ageing time bomb
Ageing populations come under the spotlight with UN resolution
Malaysia is “ not ready ” to tackle issues caused by fast-ageing populations , while the Asia-Pacific country with the most to worry about has been making inroads into “ successful ageing .”
“ There ’ s a lot more that needs to be done for our elderly population . The government has been receptive about this issue , but there ’ s still a lot to do ,” Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society secretary Ranuga Devy M . Packirisamy told Global Health Asia-Pacific .
“ We ’ re trying to advocate that the elderly should not be isolated and stay part of the community , but each generation is seeing them more isolated ,” he said .
Malaysia has been seeing a shift in its ageing culture in recent decades . Where it was once customary for families to care for their elders at home , younger generations have been leaving Malaysia for lives overseas or moving in greater numbers to cities from rural areas without their families .
“ There ’ s also a growing number of single elderly people . This trend started in the seventies and has been increasingly growing in number ,” said Ranuga .
Her advocacy group has been lobbying the government to increase benefits for elderly Malaysians and was seeing some successes before lockdowns began last year .
The Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society had been part of an effort to offer more perks , such as providing more aged care facilities , repairing rickety pavements to lower the number of trips and falls , and offering more senior discounts .
“ We were talking to the former government about a lot of changes . They understood the problems Malaysia was facing , but our work has stagnated as there are bigger problems to deal with at the moment ,” Ranuga added .
Meanwhile , Singapore is expecting the number of people aged over 65 to rise to 25 percent of the population within 10 years . Last year , just over 14 percent met this demographic , showing how quickly the country is ageing .
Nevertheless , Singaporean seniors are managing to age successfully , according to a recent study . “ Older adults … tend to have much more active engagement with life as compared to their counterparts from other countries ,” the authors wrote .
Singapore began approaching its demographic challenges in the 1980s with the launch of high-level committees to look at issues related to ageing . This led to a report that proposed 78 recommendations for social integration of the elderly , many of which have since become policy .
In academic circles , successful ageing is defined as the “ avoidance of disease and disability , maintenance of high physical and cognitive function , and sustained engagement in social and productive activities .”
“ The focus [ in Singapore ] is on individual responsibility for health , with the family seen as a major source of support and institutional care regarded as a last resort . However , there is an increasing realisation that seniors , families , communities , and the state must all work together to ensure the wellbeing of older adults ,” the study , published in the Singapore Medical Journal , concluded .
The United Nations in December declared that 2021 would be the start of a decade of healthy ageing and sent a signal to governments that they would need to accommodate populations that are getting older .
The UN Resolution , which follows the World Health Assembly ’ s recent endorsement of the Decade of Healthy Ageing , expresses concern that , despite the predictability of population ageing and its accelerating pace , the world is not sufficiently prepared to respond to the rights and needs of older people .
“ It is only by working as one , within the UN system and with governments , civil society and the private sector , that we will be able to not only add years to life , but also life to years ,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , Director-General of the World Health Organization , said at the announcement in December .
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com APRIL 2021
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