Asian Development (02.05.2024) These charts illustrate the rapid increases in the population aged 60 and older in Asia and the Pacific and the urgency of addressing long-term care needs in the region. Over the past two decades, life expectancy at age 60 in the region has increased by more than 5 years. But the expected number of years lived in less than full health also increased in most economies. A new harmonized dataset on older persons in nine economies in developing Asia found that  on average, 57% Asians aged over 60 have at least one diagnosed noncommunicable disease (NCD).

finance.yahoo.com (12.03.2024) Governments across Asia—in Singapore and Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul—are facing a crisis: plummeting birth rates. For several decades now, people in East Asian economies have had fewer and fewer children. Last year, South Korea beat its own record for having the world’s lowest birth rate, reporting 0.72 births per woman for 2023, down from 0.78 in 2022. Singapore reported 0.97 births per woman, the first time the rate has fallen below one. Japan has one of the world’s oldest populations, with a median age of 49.5.

Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Nov 2023) This report aims to support a shift in vision around social protection and climate change in the Asia-Pacific region by improving understanding of the socio-economic challenges likely to arise from climate change in the medium to long term, and how social protection can be used to manage them.

 World Food Programme (Feb 2023) The study examines the barriers and opportunities to strengthening digital financial inclusion for cash transfer recipients in the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal. Specifically, it maps the existing evidence on the landscape of digital financial inclusion and cash transfer programmes in the region, and explores the perspectives and experiences of cash transfer recipients in receiving digital cash transfers.

unrisd.org (01.08.2023) The provision of childcare remains patchy across Asia and the Pacific, largely due to the general lack of the statutory right to childcare. Limited access, affordability and quality mean that women’s participation in the workforce is diminished and the developmental needs of children remain underfulfilled. Children aged 0–2 are the most underserved, with mothers generally obligated to exit the workforce to care for this age group due to a lack of other options.

This book documents the results and impact of the Social Protection Support Initiative at the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. The initiative has been instrumental in advancing the development of evidence-based social protection policies in the region. It was devised with the intention of strengthening the amount of available evidence in the East Asia and Pacific region and has resulted in more than 70 research papers in 23 countries in six regions by the end of the initiative.

World Food Programme (27.02.2023) The study examines the barriers and opportunities to strengthening digital financial inclusion for cash transfer recipients in the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal. Specifically, it maps the existing evidence on the landscape of digital financial inclusion and cash transfer programmes in the region, and explores the perspectives and experiences of cash transfer recipients in receiving digital cash transfers.

Asian Development Bank (Dec 2022) It uses the bank’s Social Protection Indicator to assess the level of resources invested in social protection, the extent of coverage, and the benefit levels of social protection programs. Further data disaggregation provides the distribution of social protection expenditures in relation to poverty, gender, and people with disabilities. The report identifies measures adopted in response to the coronavirus disease pandemic and outlines future directions for social protection in the Pacific region.

Asian Development Bank (May 2022) This report shares insights on capacity building for long-term care in six countries at different stages of population aging: Indonesia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, and Viet Nam. It explores these countries’ long-term care systems and their particular circumstances and challenges. It also examines what they have in common and highlights good practices that may be helpful to other countries facing similar issues.

Asian Development Bank (April 2022) The brief discusses how an array of tax reforms over time, both in policy and administration, could allow more progressive structures and improved revenue performance. It notes that tax structures could be improved through broader tax bases, especially better inclusion of capital and self-employment income in personal income taxes, allowing more progressive personal income taxation. It also discusses stronger corporate taxation, increased use of property and wealth taxes, and better-designed value-added tax and excises.