Providing Income Security for the Elderly

Despite high and long-lasting economic growth, inequalities are widening in most countries in Asia and the Pacific. Currently over 1.6 billion people in the region live on less than $2 per day, of which more than 740 million live on less than $1.25 per day, deprived of basic rights, and vulnerable to increased economic and environmental risks. Within this context, there is increasing consensus by national governments that these inequalities must be addressed in order to promote a more sustainable approach to development that upholds the rights of all people to income security and access to a minimum level of social services through more extensive social protection.