Old Age Initiatives Needed To Remain Secured

Razu Ahmed :
It is widely known to us that population ageing is a demographically inexorable process in human life. We mainly pass five stages in our whole lifespan which are known as demographic transition of human life. These are infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. Among these demographic transitions of a person, old age is one of the most vulnerable stages of human life. Generally, old age starts after 60 years and ends in death. Among these five stages of human life, old age is the most sensitive and unfortified stage where people lose their physical strength, suffer from various age related diseases, get less health care facilities and get limited or no job opportunities. So, they need special care.
Most people above 60 years of age are considered as ‘older’ person . Those who are 60 years and above makeup the elderly section of population. But in developed and industrialized countries, they have accepted the chronological age of 65 years as definition of ‘elderly’ or older person. In Bangladesh, according to National Policy for older persons 2013, people of 60 years and above is considered as older person. In this stage of life, in Bangladesh context, they formally retire from all sorts of livelihood activities.
In Bangladesh, due to improved quality of life and increased life expectancy, the number of elderly people is increasing rapidly. According to government statistics, around 7.5% of the country’s total population constitutes elderly people, while the number is expected to increase sharply and reach around 20% by 2050. According to the Bangladesh Association for the Aged and Institute of Geriatric Medicine (BAAIGM), an organization works with older persons , 8 per cent of current population of Bangladesh are senior citizens. It is projected that the number of old persons in 2025, 2050, and in 2061 will be 20 million. So, it is undeniable that older people of our country are increasing rapidly and it will be great challenge for Bangladesh to ensure healthy and successful ageing.
Our cultural and religious tradition and the expectation of elderly people is that families and communities will care for the older person in family, community as well as state level. Previously, the family members, community peoples and society of our country took care of the elderly people and they felt more secured compared than the rife time. At older stage of live every people want to live with close touch of his family members especially with his or her children and get special care, love, physical and mental support from the family members. But rapid Socio-economic and demographic transitions, mass poverty, changing social values, greatly influence of western culture, ambition to live in nuclear family and others factors have broken down the family and community care system which makes the elderly people more insecured and vulnerable.
It is a bitter truth that nuclear family, in global perspective as well as Bangladesh perspective too, is increasing day by day and older people left alone living separately from their family and they becoming vulnerable in their elderly period. Although some children want their parents would live with them, in course of circumstances their parents can’t live with them because of some Socio-economic and demographic factors. This condition of elderly people claims more health and welfare services from the government and more effective provisions to the elderly support system
Bangladesh government has taken some initiatives for ensuring elderly welfare which are National Policy on older person 2013, Parent care act 2013, Old age allowance, old home service, Adraft on Probin Unnayan Foundation Act 2017, declaration of older people as senior citizen, Insurance scheme for Elderly people, Progress of MIPAA 2002 (Madrid International Plan of Action in Ageing 2002) etc. Though, government has taken some initiatives and provisions, most of them are not functioning yet. We can talk about ‘Parent Care Act 2013’ which has taken 6 years ago but it is not working properly. We can also talk about old age allowance which is not well-timed. The 2018-19 fiscal, the monthly honorarium for elderly people has been fixed at Tk 500 as old age allowance which should be increased.
Along with Government, some NGOs and Elderly welfare Organizations work for elderly people and elderly welfare to get involved with the elderly welfare organization. Such types of organizations are – Bangladesh Association for the Aged and Institute of Geriatric Medicine (BAAIGM), Bangladesh Women’s Health Coalition (BWHC), Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM), Resource Integration Centre (RIC), Boiska Kallyan Samity (BKS), Sir William Beverage Foundation, Help Age International etc. These organizations are running some programs for elderly welfare but these programs are not enough to cover the whole elderly People in Bangladesh. The organizations working with elderly people and elderly welfare face many difficulties. For example, financial limitations, lack of government cooperation, lack of skilled social worker (care giver), administrative complexity, nepotism, corruption, managerial problems, lack of coordination etc. which hamper ensuring elderly welfare.
Several organizations working with elderly people and elderly welfare has asserted that the growth of elderly people in Bangladesh will continue and that has laid down several issues related to their status and roles, care and living, health, nutrition, social support and overall well-being. Since, Bangladesh doesn’t have an active social welfare system; the elderly people have to face various sorts of physical and psycho-social problems. It is our responsibility to take care of the elderly people of our family, society as well as our country as they have contributed at lot to our society. They sacrificed their whole life for our well-being. We have to be more responsive, informed and attentive about our duties and responsibilities towards the elderly people. Taking proper care of elderly people is our ethical duty and responsibility. Besides, our duty and responsibility towards elderly people, government and other organizations working with elderly people and their welfare have played significant role to ensure elderly well being. The government should concentrate on elderly welfare and introduce active elderly welfare initiatives and increased the amount of old age allowance which will increase economic security. ‘National policy on older person 2013’ and ‘Parent care act 2013’ should be reformed and make actively working. To provide special medical care for elderly, government should establish World Health Organization (WHO) recommended Age-Friendly Primary health care centers and separate wards should be set up in the hospitals.
Government and Non-Government organizations should jointly work for making a habitable environment for elderly people and provide them all necessary services for their healthy and secured older period.
(Razu Ahmed, student , Institute of Social Welfare & Research, University of Dhaka; email : razuahmed.iswr.du@gmail.com)