That 10% of our entire population is soon set to be over the age of 60 should give us pause; especially so with projections showing that one in five will be over 60 by 2050.

To that end, we must confront the implications of an ageing population head-on; while this is a celebration of the strides we have made and continue to make in increasing our life expectancy, we must simultaneously acknowledge the very real challenges that come from having a significantly large ageing population.

First and foremost, however, is our inadequate healthcare system, one which is, already, unfit to serve the nation at large and is woefully underprepared for the chronic illnesses and disabilities that accompany longer lifespans. 

Older adults facing complications is the norm and as such, we must be proactive and begin investment in ensuring our healthcare system improves - be that general geriatric care or the health infrastructure in rural areas.

In addition, our social protection mechanisms remain weak, particularly pensions and income security. This is of particular relevance to women, who live longer and continue to shoulder disproportionate burdens of unpaid care and have been repeatedly shown to be more vulnerable to poverty and exclusion.

We must also rethink outdated definitions of ageing -- clinging to notions of dependency risks undermining both economic resilience and human dignity. Therefore, it is also imperative to not see ageing as a burden as many older citizens can continue to contribute through caregiving, volunteering, and informal economic activity. 

However, for that to be our reality, we need the right policies that encourage and enable older people to remain active participants in society.

Every nation, as it develops, has more older people - this is and has been the global trend. What we must do now is remain proactive and reframe ageing as a source of resilience rather than crisis.