Intervention By Minister For Health Mr Ong Ye Kung At The G20 Joint Finance And Health Ministerial Meeting, In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

1.            It is important that Finance and Health Ministers continue to work together in this regard. I thank the taskforce for its work and for highlighting the salient issue of the social determinants of health. And of course, to better prepare ourselves for the next pandemic, it is a possible motivation for working on social determinants of health.

2.            But it is more likely that Finance and Health Ministers join forces to address another major social development that is happening all around the world, and that is ageing.

3.            We are living through a historic, global demographic change. Other than Africa, the whole world is ageing rapidly – in Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia including India, North America, and South America. This is driven by people living longer, and at the same time, falling fertility rates. 

4.            An older population means a heavier disease burden, and with it, a higher fiscal burden. Health is already, in many countries, the highest spending item, and it can go up even further, in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP, and there is a risk of it rising unsustainably.

5.            Therefore I think the fates and interests of Health and Finance Ministries are tied closely together because of ageing, and the fundamental solution is actually to keep seniors active and healthy, by tackling the social determinants of health.

6.            If we want to look at this issue, perhaps it is useful to think about it under the framework of ageing for future meetings. Thank you.