The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences pose significant threats to the wellbeing and dignity of older persons across the Asia Pacific region. The pandemic will have far-reaching and long-lasting impacts in unpredictable ways. Monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 on older persons is therefore essential to inform policy makers and the broader society in order to ensure responses are inclusive of older persons. Throughout 2020, HelpAge and UNFPA, therefore, monitored the situation of older people across the region and in a sample of target countries.
Three publications were released by HelpAge through UNFPA's financial support as part of the 'Monitoring COVID-19 impact on older persons' collection*:
- COVID-19 and older people in Asia Pacific: 2020 in review, looking back at how the pandemic affected older people in Asia Pacific in 2020. The report documents some of the key themes that emerged throughout the year and suggests critical gaps that 2021 will urgently need to address.
- COVID-19, older adults and long-term care in Asia Pacific, to provide analysis of the variations and connections between COVID-19 and models of care provision in Asia Pacific and to guide understanding of the context and priorities. This brief is based on a study by Irving & Bloom.
- Data gaps and ageing in the COVID-19 pandemic, to highlight that data gaps are hampering an effective age-inclusive pandemic response particularly in three areas: health and care, income security, and social challenges faced by older people.
*The ‘Monitoring COVID-19 impact on older persons’ collection was originially published by HelpAge International and can be accessed here.
