Collaboration is the way to meet the challenges of health and elderly care, says Kelvin Chamunorwa
I recently attended a reception in London for financial services professionals where the keynote speaker was Nick Clegg, UK Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Clegg's address began with the obligatory electioneering, then he went on to speak about policy and his stance on whether the UK should remain part of the EU. He said he believed in a spirit of collective leadership within Europe for the benefit of the UK economy. Others argue that economic benefits can be achieved through trade agreements without being part of the Union and consequently losing other freedoms.
We live in an increasingly international world - it was ironic that, in the same week as the reception, London was deluged by dust from the Sahara. A global, rather than a regional, perspective is imperative to tackle the challenges we face in areas such as climate change, crime and commerce. The proposed free-trade agreement between the EU and US certainly seems promising - it would boost not only the partners' economies but those of other countries too.
One of the biggest threats to the global economy over the long term is the ageing population.
The cost of health and long-term care is already among the most significant in the budgets of governments and older people, especially in the developed world. Defusing the demographic time bomb will require collaboration across actuarial specialisms, creativity in new approaches to delivering and funding health and social care services and a change in attitudes towards older people in the workplace.
The articles in this edition raise a number of pertinent issues around health and care and I hope they stimulate debate among readers.
As features editor at The Actuary for the last two years, Sarah Bennett has worked tirelessly in her voluntary role, specialising in health and care. She has now decided to step down and focus on a new opportunity abroad. Sarah signs out by co-authoring an excellent interview piece with Evelyn Bourke, an actuary and CFO of Bupa.