|
|
|
| |||||||||||
|
SOCIAL SCIENCE
Population aging is becoming one of the world’s most important demographic phenomena. A very rapid expansion of the population of older people is underway, the result of past reductions in fertility and mortality. The proportion aged 60 and older will grow from less than 8 percent today to almost 17 percent by 2040 in the developing world as a whole, and in most countries the older segment of the population is growing faster than any other age group. In China, for instance, the proportion of people aged 60 years and older will increase from fewer than 10 percent today to over 28 percent of the population by 2040. Securing the health and psychological and economic well-being of this growing segment of the developing-world population is challenging for a number of reasons. Because health tends to decline with age and older adults often stop working, the elderly require a unique combination of material and physical supports. They are the group most likely to use formal health care services, such as physician and hospital care. Older adults often are among the poorest in developing countries and require support from others in order to assure their survival. Formal government support, however, often is lacking, and older adults tend to rely on informal sources of support, such as family and friends. Declines in family size can undermine these traditional sources of support, creating the need for alternatives. These developments are especially detrimental to the poor and to those experiencing declines in functional, cognitive, and emotional health. The elderly are a highly vulnerable group, and events such as economic downturns and disease epidemics can have additional adverse impacts on their lives. For instance, the AIDS epidemic in Africa is leaving many older adults with the burden of caring for their sick children and parenting their orphaned grandchildren. The rapid rural-to-urban migration occurring in many developing regions is leaving older adults in rural areas without necessary support. Projects
Publications/Resources on this issue See Also
|
|
|||||||||||
