The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives
It is the best of times; it is the worst of time. Aging is morphed into a mixed bag of emotions. Without support this phase of one’s life can be quite lonely and challenging. Unfortunately, many of us are unprepared for the changes that come with growing older. Humanity is living longer than ever. The United Nations (UN) states that global life expectancy has risen increasingly for over seven decades, yet the gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy reached 9.6 years in 2019, reflecting the growing burden of non-communicable diseases. Longer lives are drawing greater attention to how health, social and economic conditions, and human rights are experienced. Longevity intersects with health systems, labour markets, social protection, education, housing and fiscal sustainability in ways that cannot be addressed in isolation. Where years are lived in good health and supported by inclusive labour markets and effective social protection, longer lives can generate a longevity ...