LUMPUR: The care economy is growing in momentum in recent years and will be a top priority for the Asia Foundation to identify key areas in supporting the sector.

The foundation’s country representative for Malaysia, Dr Robin Bush said the care economy in Malaysia is relatively new and it is important for relevant stakeholders to understand the nature of the sector, as Malaysia turns into an ageing society.

As such, she said there is an urgent need to address a wide range of issues related to the care economy which covers subsectors like elderly care, childcare, care for the disabled, healthcare and palliative care.

“In a study by the International Labour Organization (ILO) across 64 countries, 16.4 million hours are said to have been spent each day in providing care services to those in need.

“According to recent data, 17 per cent of the country’s population will be 80 years old and above by 2045 and this may strain the nation’s resources due to the increased age of the working population,” she told Bernama in an exclusive interview after moderating a dialogue themed ‘Towards a Resilient and Sustainable Care

Economy in Malaysia’.

The dialogue was also attended by the foundation’s Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality programme senior director Jane Sloane, Malaysian National Council of Women’s Organisations (NCWO) president Tan Sri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin and Kiddocare Sdn Bhd founder and chief executive officer Nadira Yusoff.

Dr Robin said in every meeting with a ministry, non governmental organisation( N GO) or agency, the representatives expressed utmost interest in the care economy but there isn’t actually a lot of knowledge on what it actually means and how it is done.

“This is why we brought key industry players, ministries, universities and other relevant parties on board to have a discussion about the main parts of the care economy for this country,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dr Robin said it is also equally important for Malaysia to provide policy responses that encourage and support the employment of women as one of the critical factors in achieving high-income status.

She said well-educated and highly-skilled women comprise a high percentage of the workforce in Malaysia and it would be unfortunate to see the singlepeak phenomenon (women leaving the workforce and not returning) happening commonly in the country.

“It is a contradictory situation; Malaysia has a workforce of women who are highly educated, even more so than the men and as of the latest, 67 per cent of graduates from the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field are women.

“Yet at the same time, women in Malaysia drop out of the workforce more than those from neighbouring countries and they do not return to work thereafter... this is the dichotomy we are dealing with,” she said.

Dr Robin said supporting the care economy, as one of many sectors, is crucial in helping to transition Malaysia from an advanced middle-income to a high-income nation, as per the foundation’s objective and she reminded the importance of all parties to play a pivotal part in the care economy.

“The care economy is so rich and multi-dimensional that there is more than enough work for everyone involved. Each party have a piece to work on... it is crucial for these pieces to be connected somehow so that they are coordinated and reinforce each other’s efforts properly,” she said.