KUCHING, Aug 16 — Comprehensive data is needed to understand and plan for the needs of the elderly in Sarawak, especially in facing the status of an ageing state by 2028.

State Women, Childhood and Community Well-being Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said that data from a comprehensive study can help in policy formulation, as well as in the development of intervention programmes.

"Good data can help formulate better policies.

"The basis is data; we want to know the overall condition of our senior citizens in the city and rural areas; we need this information,” she said in her speech at the "Wacana Bestari: Isu Penuaan di Sarawak”, a discourse on ageing issues in the state, here today.

Fatimah said that a comprehensive study on the problems faced by seniors in Sarawak, by three universities in the state, will also start next year.

Meanwhile, Fatimah said that after the Covid-19 pandemic, Sarawak recorded a significant decrease in the number of births, with only about 20,000 babies recorded in 2021 and 2022.

"In previous years, the number of births in Sarawak was about 40,000 per year. Therefore, Sarawak is projected to become an ageing state in 2028, when 16 per cent of its population consists of those aged 60 and above.

"In fact, most rural villages in Sarawak already have an ageing population, because the youth migrate to study and work,” she said. — Bernama