THE government is in the process of developing an e-Group to enable information sharing among Fiji and its Pacific Island neighbours.
Social Welfare permanent secretary Govind Sami said the e-Group would be an ideal platform for sharing among actors on ageing issues.
Mr Sami said the idea to establish an e-Group evolved from the HelpAge Network Asia-Pacific Regional Conference held last month in Myanmar, Yangon.
"Having an e-Group means countries will be able to share views, plans and strategies to address the ageing trend and this will strengthen Pacific Island networks to develop a multi-sectoral approach at regional level, placing ageing as an important agenda for the Pacific Island Forum," Mr Sami said.
He said the conference also provided opportunities for representatives to discuss the challenges and way forward in terms of addressing the needs of elderly. "The meeting has taken the bottom-up approach whereby we get to hear the voices of the elderly and then take the decision on actions to be taken," he said.
Mr Sami said other issues discussed were the need for social protection for elderly, healthcare plans and labour composition, where elderly would dominate the labour market.
"The conference heard that by 2030 we will have older people than children in the world and it calls for policies to ensure the implications of ageing trend are addressed," he said.