#EhbasveDhebasvamaa Ep29 | The Aging Crisis & The Care Economy | Shadiya Ibrahim

Welcome to Episode 29 of Ehbasve Dhebasvamaa. Today, for our World Population Day special, hosts Naaif Ahmed and Hiriga Ahmed Zahir look beyond the concrete infrastructure and focus on the humans driving the statistics.We are joined by Shadiya Ibrahim, Head of Office at UNFPA Maldives, to discuss a quiet crisis: the Maldives is graying rapidly. With birth rates dropping and the cost of living skyrocketing in Malé, young people are delaying starting families. We explore the heavy burden of the "care economy," the looming pressure on Aasandha and the national pension scheme, and why policymakers need to urgently rethink their long-term demographic strategies before it is too late.In this full episode, we discuss:*The transition from a "youth bulge" to a rapidly aging population.*Why young Maldivians are delaying family formation and having smaller families.*The unmonetized "Care Economy" and how elder care keeps capable people—mostly women—out of the formal workforce.*Solutions for professionalizing care workers and decentralizing health systems.