Wellness for a Healthy Asia

• Publisher: Asian Development Bank
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9789292628437
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Medical Law
• Index: Law

The health and well-being of Asians took a battering during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Wellness, or the active pursuit of activities for holistic health, is vital for a sound mind and body. As such, now is an opportune time to take stock of the current state of wellness and the wellness economy in Asia. Asians are blessed with rich wellness traditions they can leverage in their quest for mental and physical health. This timely book examines the key drivers of the demand for wellness in the region. It also sets out concrete policy options for promoting wellness among all Asians.

PART 1

COVID-19 Brings Wellness to the Fore

CHAPTER 1

Why Does Wellness Matter So Much in the Age of COVID-19? A Selective Literature Review

Donghyun Park and Pilipinas Quising

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a once-in-a-century global health and economic crisis. In this chapter, we document the link between the twin crises and individual well-being, especially mental health, by looking at past and current evidence. Past studies of the nexus between economic crisis and mental health, as well as the nexus between disaster outbreaks and mental health, point to a significant negative relationship. Emerging studies that analyze the effect of COVID-19 confirm a negative effect, which is likely to be large and persistent given the unprecedented nature of the health and economic crises. Our review thus strengthens the case for wellness, or the active pursuit of activities, choices, and lifestyles that promote happiness and well-being. Wellness will empower and enable individuals to achieve and maintain their mental well-being and physical well-being, which are invaluable assets for navigating the uncertain and stressful post-COVID-19 world.

COVID-19 Triggers a Global Health and Economic Crisis

COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus, which first emerged in December 2019. COVID-19 is an unprecedented, once-in-a-century shock to global health and the world economy. Although the disease initially affected the People's Republic of China (PRC) and other Asia and Pacific economies in December 2019 and January 2020, it has rapidly spread to all corners of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on 11 March 2020. The pandemic has exacted a heavy toll on global public health, infecting about 54.8 million people and causing almost 1.3 million deaths worldwide by 17 November 2020. As of that date, the 12 countries with the highest number of confirmed cases were, in descending order, the United States (US), India, Brazil, the Russian Federation, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Italy, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. This list of countries reflects the truly global nature of COVID-19. The future trajectory of the pandemic still remains subject to a great deal of uncertainty.

Asia too has been hit by COVID-19, which affected all subregions and economies of the continent. Although some Asian economies have been hit harder than others, none have been immune to the coronavirus. The PRC, the original epicenter of the pandemic, managed to contain it relatively effectively with stringent public health measures. The Republic of Korea (ROK), which suffered a major outbreak in late February, also brought the pandemic under control. Other Asian economies that have managed to curb the spread of the disease include Hong Kong, China; Japan; Singapore; Taipei,China; and Viet Nam. India, on the other hand, has seen a rapid growth of cases. In addition to infecting large numbers of Asians, which has strained the health-care systems of Asian economies, the virus has also adversely affected people’s mental health. Most developing Asian economies have already responded to the COVID-19 outbreak in various ways. Many governments have mobilized interagency task forces and other coordinating mechanisms to ensure a harmonized public health response.

In addition to COVID-19’s devastating impact on global health, the lockdowns, travel bans, community quarantines, and other restrictions that were necessitated by the pandemic have derailed the world economy. In October, the International Monetary Fund projected that global output would contract by 4.4% and trade by 10.4% in 2020. This would mark the deepest global downturn in the postwar period, even worse than the Great Recession in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The economies of developing Asia too will suffer a sharp downturn as a result of the pandemic. The evolution of the pandemic, and hence developing Asia’s outlook, remains highly uncertain. In October 2020, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) drastically revised its 2020 regional growth forecast from April of the same year: from a slowdown of 2.2% to a contraction of 0.7%, the first regional recession in nearly 6 decades.

All of developing Asia’s subregions will see their growth weaken in 2020. Global demand weakened by the pandemic will weigh on the 2020 outlook, particularly in the more open subregions and tourism-dependent economies like those in the Pacific. Growth in East Asia will dip from 5.4% in 2019 to 1.3% in 2020 before reaccelerating to 7.0% in 2021. The remaining subregions will all experience a contraction: South Asia by 6.8%, the Pacific by 6.1%, Southeast Asia by 3.8%, and Central Asia by 2.1%. Even Asian countries that managed to effectively contain the pandemic, such as the ROK, will see a sharp decline in their growth because of the deterioration of the global outlook. The pandemic of recession has spread to all subregions and economies.

Across developing Asia, governments have introduced fiscal stimulus packages and central banks have eased monetary policy to support economic activity. To support economic growth and help the most vulnerable population groups, the region’s governments are ramping up spending. While countercyclical fiscal and monetary policies will help to soften the severe economic blow of the pandemic, the region clearly faces a highly uncertain economic future. In common with other parts of the world, the region faces the twin strategic challenges of tackling the health crisis while reopening and rebuilding the economy.

Global Health and Economic Crisis Brings Wellness to the Fore

The catastrophic effect of COVID-19 cannot be captured by simple numbers. Health impact figures, such as the number of confirmed cases and deaths, are informative and revealing. So too are economic impact figures such as gross domestic product (GDP) and export data. However, above all, COVID-19 has had a profound human effect. It has adversely affected billions of human lives around the world. More precisely, the pandemic has had a detrimental effect on the happiness and well-being of people in developing Asia and elsewhere. Fear of COVID-19 infection, economic hardship, uncertainty about the future, social isolation, and extended home confinement can all take a heavy toll on happiness and well-being. This is precisely why wellness, or the pursuit of happiness and well-being, is receiving significant attention from the public since the outbreak.

According to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness is the active pursuit of activities, choices, and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.¹ Wellness is conceptually distinct from happiness and well-being, which refer to a subjective condition—being happy or in a state of well-being. On the other hand, wellness is associated with the process of actively making choices that lead toward optimal health and well-being. Wellness is also related to but distinct from the medical paradigm. While the two overlap when it comes to preventive health care, much of medical care is focused on treating and curing illness, whereas wellness focuses on moving from neutral to optimal health. Examples of wellness include exercising, eating healthy food, and meditating. Wellness is multidimensional and holistic in that it includes physical, mental, emotional, and social dimensions.

Even before the onset of COVID-19, Asia’s demand for wellness had been growing for some time because of structural factors. In particular, higher incomes, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and population aging are driving the demand for wellness. Decades of rapid economic growth have left many Asians much richer than their forebears. As a result, Asians are becoming more aware of the benefits of healthier lifestyles. For instance, the quest for more calories is giving way to a quest for better nutrition. The growth of NCDs, such as heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, in the region, is encouraging Asians to exercise more, eat better, and seek healthier life choices. In addition, Asia’s population is aging. Older populations are associated with chronic diseases as well as loneliness and mental health issues. And Asia’s worsening pollution presents a clear and present danger to the health of Asians.

Wellness can contribute to sustainable development as well as the mental and physical health of the poor. Wellness, or the active pursuit of well-being, is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 3: to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. A focus on wellness would also provide a more balanced and holistic view on development progress than simply pursuing increases in income per capita. In principle, many wellness activities, such as physical exercise, are available to all. In practice, the poor are at a disadvantage since they have less money and time to devote to wellness, and have more limited access to, or knowledge about, health facilities or nutritious foods. Public investment in wellness infrastructure, such as community recreation centers and green parks in poor neighborhoods, as well as health education campaigns, can help level the playing field.

To sum up, higher incomes, NCDs, population aging, and other structural factors were fueling Asians’ growing demand for wellness even before the advent of COVID-19. The demand for wellness is likely to grow even more because of the pandemic, which has predictably become the overriding global concern since the outbreak and continues to do so even months after (Figure 1.1). Thus, COVID-19 will add impetus to a long-term structural trend. Given that the pandemic has led to both a health crisis and an economic crisis, it is not surprising that the general public has a wide range of concerns. The pandemic has had a negative impact on the happiness and well-being of Asians, and they are likely to actively pursue activities, choices, and lifestyles that lead to happier, more fulfilling lives.

Figure 1.1 Top Five Global Concerns

Notes:

^a Research among adults ages 16–64 in 28 participa...