Previous Fora / 2013
LAVADENZ, Fernando
Health, Nutrition and Population, The World Bank
Dr. Fernando Lavadenz is a Senior Health Specialist at the World Bank, with an extensive experience of more than 25 years working in the health sector and development in 18 countries in two continents (America and South-Asia), including research, health policy, health projects preparation and supervision, impact evaluation, health management and results based financing in public health. In addition, he has worked in development on nutrition, water, education and environment related to health. Prior to this, Dr. Lavadenz held in his country, senior level Government positions related to policy assessment, decision-making and corporative management, as Chief of Cabinet, (Vice Minister of Health eq.), General Manager of Health Sector Reform, General Director of Health, and Director of Public Health Insurances. Previously to join the World Bank, he worked with different International organizations, the IDB and World Health Organization (WHO) in Asia and America. Trained as a Medical Doctor, holds a title of Specialist in Clinical Oncology and Chemotherapy, a title of Specialist in Clinical Pharmacology, and a Diploma (Master) in Public Health, as well as a Certification in Hospitals Management. Trained as WHO/PAHO “Resident in International Health”, has received, additional and continuous training in management, health insurances, health financing, and research in health economics. Professor of several Universities in Argentina and Bolivia, made basic research in Cancer (case-control, and impact evaluation randomized trials), and was a former cancer epidemiologist, and basic researcher on epidemiology and cancer. Has published many books and articles on health, and more recently, his research and work has been focused on Non-Communicable Diseases, Health Systems strengthening, and Behavioral change.
ABSTRACT
16:00-17:30 25 november
PARALLEL THEMATIC SESSIONS I. "The Medical Challenge of Old Age"
Health care in older age
The past half-century has seen enormous changes in the demographic makeup of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In the 1950s, LAC had a population of about 160 million people, less than today's population of Brazil. Since then, the size of the LAC population has tripled and life expectancy has grown by 22 years. The main demographic trend of the next half-century will consist of a rapid aging of the population in most LAC countries. This prospect should be a source of concern for policy makers for two reasons: first, income growth may become harder to attain in countries with large populations of older people, and second, meeting the needs of a large old-age population may be especially difficult in low and middle-income countries. This is partly because of lower incomes, but also because of the need to build economic and social institutions to realize income security, adequate health care, and other needs of the aging, in particular if the trend of elderly’s burden of disease since 1990 to 2010 continues increasing in a similar or superior rate than the current 2% per year.
During the presentation we will show how the elderly’s burden of disease increased in the last 20 years, and will introduce three groups of issues related to population aging in LAC. First, issues related to the support of the aging and poverty in the life cycle, covering questions of work and retirement, income and wealth, living arrangements, and intergenerational transfers. Second, the question of the health transition; how does the demographic transition impact the health status of the population and the demand for health care?; and Third the fiscal pressures that are likely to accompany population aging. As population age structures change, the costs of health care will change dramatically. What fiscal impact will this have on health systems? To what extent will the fiscal impact depend on demography and to what extent on public policy?
In addition, this presentation will be focused in seeking challenges and opportunities in all three areas, reinforcing the use of healthy policies for elderly on health promotion and health prevention, as well as building appropriate institutions for an aging society. At the end, what we expect is to discuss how life in LAC could be framed by the existing and expected institutions improved and providing economic and social protection to old age people, as well as the importance to introduce healthy policies and reinforce healthy strategies for reducing risk factors, and increasing improvements in health promotion, health prevention and risk management on health care since young ages, reducing the perverse cycle of more burden related to the elderly.