Quadrupling in size since 1950, the working age population in Asia and the Pacific now accounts for 67.2 per cent of the total population in the region and is set to peak at 3.3 billion by the mid-2030s. Now is the moment for Asia and the Pacific to harness this demographic window by investing in a more resilient working age population.
Solidarity is declining among people in the 21st century. This is evident in various aspects of society, including extreme individualism and consumerism, and growing polarization and fragmentation of social groups. Many people are bogged down with satisfying their own needs and wants, often with little regard for the needs of others. At the global level, nationalism is on the rise, paving the way for a greater separation of a country's interests from those of humanity as a whole.
More than one third of the population in Asia and the Pacific is not effectively protected by a healthcare scheme, rendering 1.6 billion people in the region into health-related vulnerabilities.
Selahattin Selsah Pasali1 & Ermina Sokou2
More than reducing poverty and income inequality, social protection safeguards access to basic opportunities across the life cycle, particularly in times of need. When a household is protected through a social protection scheme, potential loss of income from unemployment, maternity, disability, sickness or old age does not have to upend their standard of living.
