SILVER OPPORTUNITY - CASE STUDIES - TIME TO FOCUS ON HEALTHY AGING: Challenges, Opportunities, and Recommendations for Bangladesh - FEBRUARY 2023

Jul 19, 2026

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Bangladesh has one of the world’s largest older-adult populations, growing rapidly due to rising life expectancy. By 2040, one in five Bangladeshis will be aged 60+, while noncommunicable diseases drive 70% of deaths and create rising care demand and financial strain on families. Despite commitments to older-adult rights, health needs are unmet due to gaps in funding, services, long-term care, consolidation of care, and supportive structures such as insurance and pension legislation. Primary care remains oriented to acute illness rather than integrated long-term, people-centered care.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages82

Reading Time3 h 27 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Older-adult demographic trends and disease burden

Health system gaps and unmet care needs

Study approach and evidence base

Findings on financing and service readiness

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized SILVER OPPORTUNITY: CASE STUDIES TIME TO FOCUS ON HEALTHY AGING Challenges, Opportunities, and Recommendations for Bangladesh FEBRUARY 2023 © 2023 The World Bank Group 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org and www.ifc.org SOME RIGHTS RESERVED This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (the World Bank Group) with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the information included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to the work is given. ATTRIBUTION—Please cite the work as follows: “World Bank Group. 2023. Time to Focus on Healthy Aging: Challenges, Opportunities, and Recommendations for Bangladesh. (c) World Bank Group.” All queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail: [pubrights@worldbank.org](pubrights@worldbank.org). Authors Khaleda Islam Seemi Qaiser Kathryn Andrews Jigyasa Sharma Xiaohui Hou Bushra Binte Alam Atia Hossain 6 SILVER OPPORTUNITY CASE STUDIES Acknowledgements This report was prepared by a team led by Kathryn Andrews (Health Economist) and Jigyasa Sharma (Economist) and consisting of Khaleda Islam (Consultant), Seemi Qaiser (Consultant) and has benefitted from guidance from Xiaohui Hou (Senior Economist), Bushra Binte Alam (Senior Health Specialist), and Atia Hossain (Senior Economist) . The authors are grateful to all the individuals, organizations, and institutions who provided their knowledge and expertise to the development of this report. This work was completed under the supervision and guidance of Monique Vledder (Practice Manager, Global Engagement, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice and Feng Zhao (Practice Manager, South Asia Region, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice) . David Wilson (Program Director, Global Engagement, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice) and Juan Pablo Uribe (global director, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice) also provided overall guidance. Jocelyn Haye and Marize de Fatima Santos provided administrative support; Naoko Ohno (Senior Operations Officer) and Kyoko Tokuda (Operations Officer) provided Trust Fund administration guidance and support. We are grateful with the Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund (PHRD) Trust Fund for support with this report. SILVER OPPORTUNITY CASE STUDIES 7 Executive Summary Bangladesh is home to one of the largest populations of older adults in the world. Driven by increasing life expectancy at birth, this population is increasing. By 2040, one in five Bangladeshis will be 60 years old or older. The increase in lifespan is accompanied by a greater burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which account for 70 percent of all deaths in the country. These chronic conditions tend to affect older adults, leading to an increased demand for health care services by this group. NCDs are also expensive to treat, placing financial hardship on families in lowresource settings. While the Government of Bangladesh has committed to providing many of

FAQs

Why does Bangladesh need to focus on healthy aging?

Bangladesh has a rapidly growing older population, and noncommunicable diseases create a major health burden that increases demand for care while worsening household financial stress.

What gaps in health care for older adults does the summary highlight?

It points to insufficient funding and services, limited long-term and consolidated care, missing supportive structures such as health insurance for common chronic conditions, and the need for better alignment of primary care with older persons’ needs.

How was the study evidence gathered and analyzed?

The authors conducted a desk review of global and Bangladeshi aging literature, then held stakeholder consultations and key informant interviews, including government officials and health professionals. They also visited primary health care facilities to assess age-friendly infrastructure and analyzed data using the FIRE framework (Financing, Innovation, Regulation, Evaluation).

Jul 19, 2026

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