As demographic shifts reshape societies across the Asia-Pacific region, the APEC Health Science Academy, an affiliated center under the mechanism of the APEC Health Working Group with China as its focal point, has prioritized healthy aging as a central pillar of its mission this year, responding to one of the most profound challenges facing the region today.

Luo Yanan, vice-dean of the academy, said that 19 of the 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation have entered an aging society, generally defined as having 10 percent of the total population aged 60 or above.

In China, the number of elderly aged 60 and above reached 310 million by the end of last year, constituting 22 percent of its total population. The nation has been actively responding to population aging for years.

"During meetings of senior officials of APEC this year, we have shared China's policies and experiences in promoting healthy aging, as well as its pilot programs and policy innovations that focus on providing comprehensive elderly care and combining medical and elderly care services," she said.

Luo added that the academy has also compiled a report aimed at improving healthy aging governance across the region.

"The report states that while most APEC economies have established aging policy frameworks, significant gaps remain in areas such as curbing discrimination against old age, building age-friendly communities and strengthening long-term care systems," she said.

Luo noted that the rise of digital and intelligent technologies offers a critical opportunity to build smart health systems tailored to the demands of the elderly.

"The academy will continue to deepen cooperation between APEC economies in healthy aging and share Chinese wisdom and solutions to help the region cope with the aging trend," she said.

The academy was officially established in 2015 to help advance population health across the Asia-Pacific region and deal with the rising challenges posed by cross-regional diseases.

In addition to fostering discussions and cooperation related to an aging society, Luo said that the academy has held a number of panels and forums on mental health and digital technologies, as well as public services for people with disabilities in recent years.

She said that the academy would strive to strengthen epidemic prevention, surveillance, response and recovery capabilities and improve well-being for all in the future.

wangxiaoyu@chinadaily.com.cn