#26: Aging Cities
 Thursday, 10 September 2020 | 09.00 AM EST – 09.00 SIN/KUL time


 Enhancing Age-Readiness of Cities




YUKO ARAI, WORLD BANK
yarai@worldbank.org
Note the presentations are organized for the purpose of knowledge sharing and do not necessarily represent the views of the organizers   1
Why is COVID-19 an unprecedented pandemic why is the aging
agenda relevant?

 COVID-19 is the first pandemic since the world’s population consisted
  of more people aged over 65 than under five.
 COVID-19 fatality rises sharply with age:
    Over 95% of COVID-19 related deaths in Europe occurred in people older
      than 60  years (WHO)
    Fatality rates for those over 80 years of age is five times the global average
      (UN)
    In Japan, about 20% of the infected people are aged 70 and older and 83% of
      deaths are in this age group (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan)
 Social distancing will increase its importance as cities age. This will
  have important consequences for how the pandemic spreads, and
  what the economic responses of cities should be.

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Healthy Aging Matters


Mortality rate of COVID-19 increases with age, but it isn’t chronological age per se that is
the main problem but associated with health conditions. Healthy aging matters, and
active seniors are increasing worldwide.




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   How are the elderly disproportionately affected by COVID-19?



  Higher risks for those in                                              Increased difficulty to access
  institutional care and increased            Cluster      Limited       destinations and services
  vulnerability due to shared and            exposure    accessibility   Less visits of medical workers
  confined spaces


                                                           Limited
                                            Economic
  Susceptibility to temporary or                            social       Social distancing can
                                            well-being
  permanent unemployment                                 interaction     exacerbate social isolation




Source: World Bank Age-Ready Cities Research Team
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How are the elderly disproportionately affected by COVID-19?


 Ensure that difficult healthcare decisions affecting older people are
  guided by a commitment to dignity and the right to health.
 Efforts to protect the elderly should not overlook the many
  variations within this category, their incredible resilience and
  positivity, and the multiple roles they have in society, including as
  caregivers, volunteers and community leaders. Needs of the elderly
  in the COVID-19 context are diverse, just like younger people.
 The role of informal caregivers, often women, and their importance
  for the safety and security of the elderly must be recognized and
  addressed in pandemic responses. Increased risk of these informal
  caregivers must also be given full attention.
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Elderly in Developing Countries are being hit harder, but
demonstrating resilience

 Elderly in developing countries are being hit harder than their counterparts in
  developing countries, with insufficient health systems, underdeveloped infrastructure,
  lower levels of national income, and weaker social protection systems
 However, developing countries around the world have made efforts to initiate a
  variety of COVID-19 response actions for the elderly:
   Chapels were repurposed as an emergency shelter for the elderly (Argentina)
   Network of professionals convened by the City Government to do daily phone check-ins with
     the elderly that live alone and delivering food and medicine to them (Mexico)
   Health workers supported people with special needs and the elderly living alone. Counsellors
     made more than 340,000 telephone calls to personnel. (India)

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What have we learned through the pandemic?


 City lockdowns were an opportunity for everyone to
  realize how it’s like to be old and alone and has led us
  to think and realize what additional services we need
  to enhance age-readiness of cities.
 This can trigger technological innovation, and the
  private sector can find a whole new market they
  haven’t tapped into yet.
 Technology can help – telemedicine has taken off in
  countries like China during the crisis.


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COVID-19 is an Opportunity to Enhance Age-Readiness

There is little guesswork with aging. It is one of the most predictable
policy variables: with a high degree of confidence, we know where,
when, and how aging will happen. That’s why there’s no reason to
overlook aging in development planning. Thinking ahead is more
cost-effective than reactive responses down the road.




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