Old people face uncertain future in Africa ' AfDB

The African Development Bank has said that various governments on the continent are ill-equipped to handle the growing number of old people.A report just released by the AfDB identified deterioration in traditional patterns of family support in Africa as compounding the problem.It attributed the deterioration to the growing urbanisation and the effects of HIV/AIDS in some African countries.AfDB said in the report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria that the population of Africans above 65 years was 3.6 per cent in 2010, compared with 3.3 per cent in 2000.The report, which described aged population as a long-term phenomenon-- having steadily grown over the last 40 years-- predicted aged population growth acceleration in coming years.The elderly could account for 4.5 per cent of the continents population by 2030, and almost 10 per cent by 2050.In some countries, the proportion of older people will match that of industrialised countries by 2030 and 2050, it added.AfDB said that the new report run contrary to the generally accepted view in the West that Africa was a place with low life expectancy.Life expectancy in Africa is still lower than in developed countries, but it is increasing, and this is worthy of note, AfDB said.The report also said life expectancy at birth in Africa, which was 52.7 years in 1990, rose to 56 years by 2010.It said that the biggest growth occurred in middle-income African countries, such as Mauritius, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.The other countries such as Libya, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Djibouti have also witnessed fast growth among the elderly population.It said that unlike many developed countries, African nations are in general not particularly well equipped to deal with the growing numbers of older people.The main concerns are healthcare and pensions.The report said that most governments in Africa spend far less on health care than in most of the developed world.In 2005, 48 of the 54 African countries spent an average of less than 26 dollars per capita on health care.The health care problem is critical because of long-term chronic conditions associated with age, such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory disorders and dementia.Older populations across the world suffer these ailments, but the AfDB report suggests that they will increase faster in developing countries, where the system is less capable of dealing with them, than in the developed world.
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