Najat El Mekkaoui de Freitas is a Professor of Economics, University Paris Dauphine, France and research associate at the The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at University of Oxford. Her research covers Demography, Pension funds, Social Protection systems, Insurance and Saving. She received her M-Phil at the Pantheon-Sorbonne University and Ph.D. in Economics from University Paris-Dauphine. She is an ERF Research Fellow.
Arab countries experiencing economic and humanitarian crises are paying insufficient attention to the demographic trend of ageing populations. This column argues that providing economic security and healthcare for the elderly is one of the key challenges for the region.