No country for old people

Nairobi; Kenya: Silver is the single identifying feature that universally sets apart that people group we call the aged.

Sitting as a crown on the heads of the elderly, the colour is an icon that simultaneously proclaims multiple decades of priceless life experience while appealing for delicate handling due to diminishing vitality.

Middle age comes with various physical markers in addition to the beginnings of that silver crown.

STOOPED SHOULDERS

Take your pick: loose skin, stooped shoulders, heavy tread, sagging jowls... These herald a new season of life — one that is of necessity more measured, effectively signalling one’s impending exit from the mainstream.

Unlike in Europe which has a high population of those aged over 65 because of low birth rates and superior health care systems, Africa’s aged population is by far outnumbered by the youth because of high birth rates and poor health care coverage.

According to the World Population Review, Kenya’s 45 million people are divided into roughly three per cent aged above 65, about 42 per cent aged under 15 and the rest (a majority of 55 per cent) aged between 15 and 64.

Clearly, we have in our midst an “invisible” minority tribe of around two million people in danger of being forgotten in the frenzy to cater for the urgent needs of a very impatient youthful population.

FULL OF YEARS

The expression “full of years” has been aptly used to describe the aged.

It speaks to the fact that while all life is a privilege, long life is a double honour and should receive a double portion of care.

The question is, are we applying careful thought to the implementation of policies geared towards the care of our compatriots, albeit relatively few in number, who are full of years?

We still seem stuck in the family support model yet this is no longer as functional as it was a mere generation ago.

Throughout rural Kenya, scores of old people are left alone and vulnerable.

Take a moment to picture what that looks like at night, or in the case of infirmity or even blindness.

The urban aged fare no better, forced as they are to endure the countless indignities of having to navigate poorly planned public facilities where the young are oblivious to the needs of their elders.

This is the new reality of our country.

Bereft of the strength and vitality of their youth, children long gone to the cities and busy with their own lives, our seniors have become increasingly isolated with inadequate help to carry out daily routines.

This growing phenomenon requires careful consideration at all levels: national, county and community.

NEDDS OF THE AGED

Our social service programmes must, as a matter of priority, extend their reach to cater for the practical, economic, nutritional, health and well-being needs of the aged.

Jobless youth can fill this gap as caretakers and companions.

A recent report by HelpAge International measuring the social and economic welfare of people aged over 60 in almost 100 countries shows that Norway is the happiest place to age, followed by Switzerland, Canada and Germany.

The worst are, not surprisingly, in the Third World.

It is quite telling that no African country except Mauritius has made it to the list of 50 best places in the world to grow old.

Ranked number 38, one could argue that Mauritius does not even fall within the description of a quintessentially African country apart from geographical classification.

Financial security, an efficient public transport system and a high level of employment among senior citizens are cited by the organisation’s Global AgeWatch Index as being crucial to ensuring the well-being of the aged.

This, one may argue, is the essence of honouring old people.

The elderly population in Kenya may be low at the moment, but this will not be the case two decades from now.

As we follow the trend of the West and set our ideal family size at two children per couple on account of economic considerations, the graph will gradually become inverted and we will be forced to recognise this urgent social issue and deal with it accordingly.

Indeed according to the UN, the number of people worldwide aged 60 or over is expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030.

PLANNING AHEAD

Economist and global ageing specialist Gustavo Toshiaki is quoted in the Daily Telegraph as attributing Norway’s top ranking as the happiest place to age to “... a combination of good management of natural resources coupled with planning ahead.”

Part of this planning ahead involves the arrangement of urban areas and public amenities, in addition to the establishment of social safety nets.

Africa’s track record on this score is dismal.

Unplanned urban development and broken campaign promises pertaining to road infrastructure incriminate political leaders whose short-sightedness is taking a heavy toll on the social and economic welfare of the aged.

Planning ahead also involves reviving instruction on how young people ought to conduct themselves around the aged.

Around 10 years ago, I started taking note of a comment Mum would make every so often: “It is because I am old” would invariably follow rude or offhand treatment in a public place.

Around that time, she travelled by air out of the country and suffered indignity upon indignity at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport through being either patronised (“Cucu, sasa unaenda wapi wewe?”) or ignored outright.

GENERATIONAL DISCONNECT

There is certainly a generational disconnect in our society that is becoming more marked as children move away from their home towns and raise their own children without sustained contact with their grandparents.

When middle age comes knocking, and with it looming retirement, the question of where to spend one’s sunset years becomes urgent.

The sheer pace of urban life is enough to intimidate anyone over 70.

Add to that the rough and tumble that characterises a typical African city and you put paid to any prospects of a good quality of life for the elderly in such an environment.

Rural Kenya is hardly an attractive option, typified as it is by inadequate health facilities, worse roads and growing insecurity.

It is time we placed the issue of ageing higher on the national agenda.