Various politicians, reporters and columnists now quote the sobering statistic that the number of persons aged 65 and older will double to 22 percent of our population by 2030. There is still much work to be done, however, in understanding and planning for this unprecedented shift in our demographics.

For example, I was recently asked why our population is ageing. The simple answer is medical technology. A glance at the list of medical advances over the last century tells an impressive tale, beginning with inoculations that have prevented literally millions of deaths from infectious diseases.

Then we have the development of antibiotics that keep us alive in spite of deadly infections, followed by modern-day open heart surgery and kidney dialysis. The list of medical advances is endless and continues to grow, especially through the pharmaceutical industry. As a result, more people are now living well into their 90s and beyond.

Because of medical advances, in the middle of the last century women began to have some confidence that most if not all their babies would survive childhood. At the same time, Rosie the Riveter and her sisters took on previously male-dominated civilian jobs while their menfolk went off to fight in the Second World War. In doing so they unleashed women from the shackles of the home and into the workplace.

This didn't stop the baby boom after the war when those menfolk came home. Almost 80 million babies were born between 1946 and 1964 in the USA alone. But women were no longer content to stay at home, they wanted to work, and they began to demand smaller families and equality in the workplace.

The next medical advance was birth control in the form of a pill that was safe and effective. This led to a declining birth rate after 1964. The result is that we now have a population bulge known as the Baby Boomers whose own parents are living into their 90s, yet they have smaller families to help care for them.

To put the statistics another way, in the year 2000 we had a ratio of approximately six people of working age for every senior. By the year 2030, we will have a ratio of approximately three people of working age for every senior. If this doesn't make you quake in your boots, it should. The cost of many more seniors living much longer with more medical conditions that grow ever more expensive is going to be overwhelming unless some very careful and strategic planning is done, and done soon.

Countries around the world are making strategic plans and implementing programmes for the impact of their ageing populations. The issue is complex and affects every aspect of life from housing to education, transportation to health care, employment policies and legislation – the list is long.

We need a national forum in which every government department, all political parties, the private sector and the non-profit sector can come together to brainstorm solutions for the challenges ahead.

We need to Activate an urgent need to find solutions. We need to Advocate, that is, support any and all initiatives that will bring about change in our sluggish response to the so-called Silver Tsunami that is heading our way. And we need to Agitate which, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means "campaign to arouse public concern about an issue".

We also need to "Go American" and lobby our Members of Parliament. Ask them what they are doing about ensuring that age is included as a ground of discrimination in our forthcoming revised Human Rights Act. Ask them what they are doing about health and housing plans that are equitable but do not burden our children and grandchildren with mountains of debt and high taxes. Ask them what they are doing about transportation for an ageing population, education of health care workers, quality control of long-term care institutions, and support of family caregivers. Ask and demand answers.

Let's bring it on, Bermuda. By 2030 it will be too late. By 2020 it will be too late. By 2015 it will be too late. The first Baby Boomer turns 65 next year, in 2011. We need to take action now.

Marian Sherratt is President of SORCOS, a social research and consulting firm. She writes on issues concerning our ageing population each month in The Royal Gazette. Send e-mail responses to m.sherratt@sorcos.com