Investing in Healthy and Active Aging for Sustainable Growth—A Regional Approach to Promoting Innovative Long-Term Care

August 15, 2017
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

JCIE was among the co-organizers of a multistakeholder forum to address the challenges facing Asia Pacific due to aging populations. Rapid population aging is one of the key challenges faced by an increasing number of societies in Asia Pacific and was identified in Healthy Asia Pacific 2020 as an urgent issue to be jointly addressed. The forum, which was held on the sidelines of meetings related to this year’s APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) in Viet Nam, drew over 260 people from 27 economies in the region, representing diverse stakeholders, namely parliamentarians, government officials, and representatives from international organizations, academia, civil society organizations and the private sector.

An aging society is not only an economic challenge but it is inherently a health and human security issue. It will significantly impact the achievement of universal health coverage, which is essential to ensuring healthy and active lives for all throughout the life course, as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals. This forum, the first initiative of a newly launched JCIE program on “Healthy and Active Aging in Asia,” offered a platform to raise awareness of the urgency of the issue, discuss the challenges and ways to harness the benefits of rapid aging in Asia-Pacific countries, and share good innovative practices. The Forum participants recognized that population aging is no longer merely a domestic issue, but a common agenda item that transcends national borders, and that the multifaceted and complex challenges brought on by aging require a multisectoral approach.

It is hoped that the intellectual input from the forum will spur further policy debate among APEC officials and will encourage greater focus on the issue of aging in national, regional, and global policy debates in the future.

Opening Remarks
Akio OkawaraPresident and CEO, JCIE (Moderator)

Welcoming Remarks
Tien Nguyen Thi KimMinister of Health, Viet Nam

Keynote Speeches
Keizo TakemiMember, House of Councillors, Japan; Chairperson, Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) 
Ermalena Muslim Hasbullah, Member, Parliament, Indonesia; Chairperson, Indonesian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development

Session 1: Discovering Asia’s Pathway toward a Vibrant Aging Society 
Overview of Global Demographic Change and its Economic Impact from a Macro Perspective
Soonman KwonChief of Health Sector Group, Asian Development Bank
Overcoming the Challenges—Lessons Learned from Japan’s Experience
Koji FujimotoDeputy Director General, Office of Healthcare Policy, Cabinet Secretariat, Japan
Shigemi KitaharaPresident, Kitahara Neurosurgical Institute, Japan

Session 2: The Essential Role of Community Systems for Long-Term Care 
Moderator 
Eduardo KlienRegional Director, Asia Pacific Regional Office, HelpAge International 

Panelists
Du PengDirector, Institute of Gerontology, Renmin University of China 
 Vichai ChokevivatMember, Quality Control Committee under the National Health Security Act; President of Senior Citizen Council of Thailand; Former Expert in Health Promotion, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand 
Peh Kim ChooChief Executive Officer, Tsao Foundation; Director, Hua Mei Centre for Successful Ageing, Singapore 
Faridah Binti Abu BakarDeputy Director, Family Health Development Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
Koji MiuraProfessor, Keio University Hospital Clinical and Translational Research Center; Former Director-General, Health and Welfare Bureau for the Elderly, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan 

Session 3: A Regional Approach to Capacity Development and the Cross-Border Movement of Care Workers 
Luncheon Speaker
Sarah Louise Barber, Director, WHO Kobe Center, Japan 

Moderator 
Reiko HayashiDirector, Department of International Research and Cooperation, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan 

Panelists
Diono Susilo, Head, Division of Empowerment of Foreign Human Resources for Health, Board of Development and Empowerment, Human Resources for Health, Ministry of Health, Indonesia 
Suvinda Samarakoon SingappuliDirector, National Secretariat for Elders, Ministry of Social Empowerment and Welfare, Sri Lanka
Juan Antonio A. Perez IIIExecutive Director, Commission on Population, Philippines 
Pham Thi Quynh HuongDivision for Japan-Europe and Southeast Asia, Department of Overseas Labor, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affair, Viet Nam 
Wako AsatoAssociate Professor, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Japan

Closing Session: Way Forward for Policy Discussions and Decision- Making on Regional and Multisectoral Collaboration 
Keizo Takemi (Moderator)
Eduardo Klien (Moderator for Session 2)
Reiko Hayashi (Moderator for Session 3)
Jetn SirathranontMember of Parliament, Thailand; Secretary General, AFPPD 
Pham Le TuanVice Minister of Health, Viet Nam

Closing Remarks 
Lubna Baqi, Deputy Regional Director, Asia Pacific Regional Office, United Nations Population Fund
Hidetoshi NishimuraPresident, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia

Visit JETRO Exhibition & Performance

Buffet Reception 
Remarks
Jun-ichi KawaueConsul General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City
Pham Le TuanVice Minister of Health, Viet Nam

Co-organized with the Government of Japan, Government of Vietnam, Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), HelpAge International, and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)