Getting to Know ACAI (ASEAN Centre for Active Ageing & Innovation)          

By Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta          

ASEAN Centre for Active Ageing and Innovation (ACAI) is a policy of ASEAN under the leadership of Thailand at the 30th ASEAN Summit in Manila, Philippines in 2018. This policy seeks to improve the quality of life for the elderly prepare countries in the ASEAN region to face their ageing society, and create an environment that supports the elderly to remain active and contribute to society. The term "ageing society" is used to describe the elderly population (65 years and over) which is getting bigger compared to the younger age group. This is due to the increase in life expectancy and the decrease in birth rate. The dynamics of the changing population bring new challenges in various fields, such as health, economy, and social services.

The proportion of the elderly population in ASEAN has increased in the last two decades, namely 5.3% in 2000 and 7.5% in 2022. It is estimated that in the next 20 years, more than 70 million people will be over 65 years old. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the elderly population reached 11.75% of the total population in 2023. The elderly dependency ratio increased to 17.08, which means that 100 productive-age residents support 17 elderly residents.

Things that need to be prepared for facing an aging society include; 1) Economic burden where the productive-age population is decreasing but they must bear a greater social and economic burden to support the elderly; 2) The burden of increasing health needs due to the cost of care and pressure on the health system; 3) Unemployment among the productive age group with the increasing number of elderly; 4) Increasing the budget for social and health programs that support the elderly; 5) Integration of programs for the elderly in society as an effort to increase social resilience. One of the efforts that has been made at the village level is the Integrated Elderly Service (LLT) to realize Yogyakarta as an elderly-friendly city, which includes health services, economic empowerment, socio-religious, and open space accessibility.

Wirogunan village has an LLT 'Wira Wreda' and received a visit from ACAI experts (08/10/2024) who were greeted with 'Bregada Nyutra', as a form of a forum for the elderly to do art and maintain local culture. Along with a visit to the Mergangsan Health Center located behind the Wirogunan village office, ACAI experts also saw the economic empowerment of the elderly with food products, herbal drinks, bag crafts, and ‘shibori’ practices by the elderly. Not to forget, the elderly band group entertained the guests with evergreen songs.

In dealing with an aging society, in addition to preparing the elderly themselves, it is no less important to prepare the productive age community for the burden of the composition of the elderly population, so that social resilience can still be realized. ***