Promoting healthy ageing in the Western Pacific: A mini review of good practices and policy responses

Abstract

The Western Pacific Region is experiencing rapid population ageing, which has implications for almost all areas of society. Countries will need to prepare for population ageing by investing in health and optimizing living environments. This requires a whole-of-society approach to healthy ageing. Countries in the Western Pacific Region have been making significant progress in healthy ageing. Since the endorsement of the Regional Action Plan on Healthy Ageing, younger societies have also started preparing for population ageing, focusing on social and health systems transformation, community-based integrated care, social and technological innovations and research, monitoring and evaluation. As more countries are interested in healthy ageing and preparing for necessary social and health systems transformation, the case studies in this article can be an inspiration for Member States to transform their approaches to achieving a society where older adults are healthier and can participate fully.