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India needs to expand universal health coverage for rapidly ageing population, sustain growth momentum: ADB
May-03-2024

Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest report has said that India is one of the lowest among the Asia Pacific nations when it comes to health insurance for older people and needs to expand universal health coverage to meet the needs of rapidly ageing population and sustain growth momentum. It said while the South Korea and Thailand have achieved universal health coverage, others lag behind with India having the lowest health insurance coverage among older people at 21 per cent.

However, the report said schemes like Ayushman Bharat that provides cashless healthcare to bottom quartile of population has improved health coverage since its launch. Expanding it further will improve the condition and make people aged over 60 years more productive for the economy. It added that silver dividend can be higher for such countries who gainfully employ them. Besides achieving universal health coverage, it is also critical to extend essential services and interventions that optimize older people's physical and functional capacity. In Bangladesh, Indonesia and India, more than half of those without access to healthcare are in the bottom two wealth quintiles. 

According to the report, economic growth impact due to ageing population during 2031-40 would be lower in the case of India as it would still have high young population. It said the number of people aged 60 and older in developing Asia and the Pacific is set to nearly double by 2050 to 1.2 billion -- or about a quarter of the total population -- significantly increasing the need for pension and welfare programmes as well as healthcare services. It noted that governments need to prepare now if they're going to be able to help hundreds of millions of people in the region age well. Policies should support lifetime investment in health, education, skills, and financial preparedness for retirement. Family and social ties are also important to foster healthy and productive populations of older people and maximize their contribution to society.


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