Good morning, and welcome to this Regional Meeting on Healthy Ageing. This topic is a significant one because of the demographic changes in our region, and around the world at large.
Today, 10% of Our Region is aged 60 or above. By the year 2030, this will jump to nearly 14%, and by 2050 it will reach a staggering 22% - meaning more than one in five individuals will belong to the older age group. In absolute terms, out of the projected 2.1 billion older people globally by 2050, 480 million will call our South-East Asia Region home.
These numbers are indicative of significant strides we've made in improving life expectancy and fostering socio-economic progress. Over the past three decades, we've witnessed an increase in life expectancy by eight years, alongside empowering women and reducing fertility rates.
Managing this demographic shift presents challenges, yet also represents an opportunity. Older individuals, when equipped with good health and well-being, can play active roles in the workforce, contribute to the economy through various means, and pass on invaluable wisdom and experience to younger generations.
The United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, aims to foster longer and healthier lives. This decade focuses on combatting ageism, creating age-friendly environments, providing integrated care (ICOPE), and ensuring access to long-term care.
Significant efforts have been made to improve health and care services for older people in our Region. Our WHO South-East Asia Regional Office, in consultation with Member States, developed the regional framework for healthy ageing (2018-2022) and training packages for healthcare providers on integrated care (ICOPE).
Progress has been reported since 2020, particularly in legislation and strategies to combat age-based discrimination. However, resource constraints remain a challenge, underscoring the need for increased commitment and investment. There is also a pressing necessity to bolster data collection methods on healthy aging, ensuring they are both comparable and relevant across various contexts.
This gathering here today is important, as we convene to discuss the implementation status, identify gaps, and tackle challenges head-on. Let us use this opportunity to learn from each other and explore collaborative strategies to accelerate the implementation of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021-2030 in our region.
One of the objectives of the meeting is the development of an evidence-based regional strategy for healthy ageing—a blueprint that WHO and our Member States will collaborate on in the years to come.
I extend a warm welcome to all representatives of our Member States and all the delegates present here today. I hope your deliberations will be insightful and engaging and hope you will give us concrete recommendations to tangibly improve the health and social care of the older people in our communities.
Thank you.