(pre-Conference seminar at the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Population Ageing, 11-13 September, Bali Indonesia)
This pre-Conference seminar, organized by the Social Development Division, ESCAP, in partnership with the Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia, aimed to bring together government focal points on ageing and representatives of academia, civil society and United Nations entities to discuss policies and good practices in addressing population ageing.
In Asia and the Pacific, the number of older persons (65+) is projected to increased from 503 million people or 10.5 per cent of the total population in 2024 to almost 1 billion people or 19.5 per cent by 2050. In fact, today, one in 15 people worldwide is an older person from Asia and the Pacific. By 2050, one in 10 people globally will be an older person from Asia and the Pacific. Given the rapid decline in fertility and mortality in Asia and the Pacific, population ageing is particularly rapid in the region which gives countries little time to adjust to the challenges and opportunities associated with population ageing.
This seminar contributed to the sharing of experiences and peer-learning on policies and programmed on population ageing that are in line with global, regional and subregional mandates and frameworks and related human rights standards.
Meeting participants:
- Presented the latest evidence on levels and trends in population ageing in Asia and the Pacific and on the global, regional and subregional mandates and human rights standards on this topic;
- Reviewed the ESCAP repository of policies and good practices on ageing, obtained feedback and shared experiences from countries regarding their policies and good practices; and
- Presented and discussed a set of considerations (and criteria) to determine alignment of policies and good practices with global, regional and subregional mandates and frameworks, international human rights standards, country-specific values and priorities.
A report of the meeting will be drafted afterwards, and presentations were posted on the meeting website.