Health and Long Term Policies and Programs in the Asian Cultures - Essay Example

Health and Long Term Policies and Programs in the Asian Cultures There are two significant problems affecting Asia in terms of long term health issues for which government policies need to be in place. The first is the aging population of Asian countries such as China and Japan and the second is the impending AIDS epidemic which could hit the lesser developed regions of China in the near future. Both these problems deserve to be discussed in detail since China has become a vital country for global trade and Japan has been a part of the economic giants of the world for decades.

The problem of aging population is worse in china primarily due to the policy of one child per family which was initiated a quarter century ago. China was worried then that it may have too many children to feed but after twenty-five years, it is now worried that an aging population may have too few workers to provide care services. Health care costs for both China and Japan can be expected to rise exponentially as fewer workers are present within the system to provide for a growing population of older citizens (Kaneda, 2006).

Further, the problem of AIDS will certainly be an issue perhaps to the level of some sub-Saharan African nations which have found AIDS to be a growing menace. Human trafficking and the sex trade certainly adds to the problem and while the issue may not be that critical in Japan, it certainly is on the horizon for China and some other lesser developed countries in the Asian region such as Thailand and Burma. The government policies of creating awareness, educating the masses and providing positive social support could certainly help improve the matter (ASIP, 2008).

On the other hand, the problem of an aging population may be a more critical one for China due to the devastating economic consequences it can have for the country as it seeks to become the economic superpower of the world. While the government has started to allocate more funds for the care of the elderly, a lot remains to be done and as reported by Kaneda (2006), “The rate of increase in health care costs has already exceeded the growth of the national economy and individual earnings (Kaneda, 2006, Pg. 1)”. In such a situation, the coming demographic shift for China would only worsen the situation as a whole generation of Chinese reach the age of retirement.

It has to be understood that the trend of an aging population is inevitable for many countries and may even become accelerated where mortality rates as well as fertility are declining. However, the governments of Asia are focusing on policies which are geared towards stemming the epidemic of chronic diseases and this is considered to be a promising method for reducing the overall impact of an aging society (Kaneda, 2006). The future certainly presents a challenge to many Asian countries in terms of health care policies but it also seems that many of the same countries are doing all they can to meet the challenge.

Works CitedASIP (Asian Social Issues Program). 2008, ‘AIDS in Asia Initiative’, [Online] Available at: http://www.asiasource.org/asip/about.cfmKaneda. T. 2006, ‘Chinas Concern Over Population Aging and Health’, [Online] Available at: http://www.prb.org/Articles/2006/ChinasConcernOverPopulationAgingandHealth.aspxWord Count: 558