Ram Rattan Sharma
Increasing life expectancy coupled with the reduction in fertility has brought about a fast ageing of the world population. According to the World Health Organisation, there are around 600 million people aged 60+ in the world, and this will be doubled by 2025. The population division department of Economic and Social affairs OF United Nations Secretariat projected that one out of every ten persons is now sixty years or above. However by 2050, one out of five will be sixty years or older. The fast ageing population is forcing policy makers, world wide to review the millennium.
The Indian scenario :- The proportion of the aged population of India is much higher than South Asia as a whole until the year 1953, the sequence of high birth rates followed by high death rates kept the proportion of persons aged 60 and above at a low level in India. However, since 1991, this population has grown steadily. In recent years, a steady decline in the birth rate has accentuated the aging process. As per 2001 census total population of 60+ people was 7.7 crore of which population of male and female were 3.8 crore and 3.9 crore respectively. The population of senior citizens was projected to rise to nearly 14 crore by 2021 and over 17 crores by 2026. India thus belongs to the family of greying nations with over 7% of its population in the 60+ category. Substantial progress in health care amenities is one of the main reasons for marked increase in the proportion of elderly in India. However, it is disturbing to note that no simultaneous increase in the quality of life takes place among the rising proportion of the elderly. The first national policy on older persons was announced in January 1999 by the GOI to ensure the well being of the aged. The policy envisages state support to fulfil food security, shelter and protection against exploitation among the aged. In addition, the maintenance and welfare of parents and Senior Citizen Act 2007 was enacted in December 2007 to ensure the care of the aged, which includes penal provision and even revocation of transfer of property by senior citizens for the abandonment or negligence by their children or relatives. The older population of male and female was 5.2% and 5.10% in 1971. The same would rise to 8.8% and 9% respectively very shortly. Kerala was one of the best performers among Indian states in containing birth rates and meeting out health services to people. According to the first census in1901, the number of elderly persons in Kerala of 60 years of age and above was only 10 lakh. But this number rose to 26 lakh in 1991. As per 2001 census, Kerala has 33 lakh elderly persons. This number was expected to increase to 57 lakh in 2021 and 120 lakh in 2061. The momentum of ageing is gaining speed in Kerala.
Care of the aged :- As the number of aged people in the country rises, the state and society alike need to pay more attention to their care and guaranteeing their rights to dignified living. The rights of the aged can be categorized into three -protection, participation, and image. Protection refers to the physical, psychological and emotional safety of the aged. Participation refers to the need to establish a more active role of older persons and image refers to the need to create a healthy and respectful attitude.Under the traditional joint family structure in India, the rights and care of the elderly were largely taken care of however, with the disintegration of joint families. Large scale migrations that forced members of families away from their ancestral places and other such reasons the elderly are very often left to their own devices. They have to depend on persons and services available outside the family for their various needs. In a sense, it can be said that the care of the elderly has been taken over by the market and has become commodified .
For many, this can be expensive or even unaffordable. The govt. has tried to intervene through the act for the protection of and assistance to the aged, but the young naturally have to do their share. The problems that the aged face are on many fronts. On the physical front, it may be linked to basic needs like food, shelter and physical support and protection. On the psychological front it often means coping with loneliness, feelings of low self worth and general insecurity. Another distressing aspect is the need for the health care, especially with second generation diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer and cancer spreading fast. With shrinking families, long term care of the elderly and meeting their needs on the physical, psychological and health fronts is becoming very difficult. Alternatives like old age homes and shelter for elders are coming upon no doubt, but the good, privately run centres can often be beyond the means of many while the more reasonable ones. For example those run by the government are usually plagued by problems of fund shortage, poor infrastructure and poor and untrained manpower. For providing long term, sustainable care to the elderly we need to tap all three sources of care – the family, the state and the community. As the care market is largely informal and is integrated within the social sector, it is difficult to obtain reliable data pertaining to elderly care. Moreover, different labour markets co-exist within the long term care sector. It is however, an industry marked by low wages and rickety working conditions. Coordination and regulation by the state could probably help matters. In providing health care, we need to focus not only on patient care but also on palliative and rehabilitation care. Health insurance is another area where state intervention is required. Further, the govt. needs to provide health coverage for the below poverty line elderly and the destitute rather than just focusing on construction of old age homes, day care centres and the like.
It would be more advisable to put in place mechanisms to ensure availability, accessibility and affordability of a decent life and good health among the aged. However, this requires a sizable allocation in the social sector and more importantly, responsive and responsible senior citizen associations. NGOs can also play a decisive role in this regard. Whatever the state and market may do, we must remember that care for the elderly can best be ensured within the family structure. The governments intervention in bringing an act to ensure that children take care of their aged parents is a very welcome step in this direction. As people approach the evening of their lives. Their physical and mental conditions naturally deteriorate resulting in dependency on their communities and families.
Let families and the community view this as a payback can occasion for the contributions and services rendered by them, in the past. Organisations, NGOs can play a crucial role in development of such activities. Counselling centres, and after-care centres should exist in all communities with local support and participation.
(The author is former Dy Librarian University of Jammu)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
