Tanzania ranks poorly in global index on elderly care

Dar/ Bukoba. Tanzania has been ranked the second from the bottom on the quality of life and wellbeing of older people around the world, according to Global Age Watch Index 2013 published by a charity, Help Age International.

The Global AgeWatch Index 2013, released on Tuesday, shows that on the top of the list is Sweden and at the bottom is Afghanistan.

The Index shows that in 90 countries surveyed, Tanzania got the 90th place. In Africa, of the eight countries that were surveyed, Tanzania is at the bottom.

The top seven African countries, are: Mauritius, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Malawi and Rwanda.

“The number and proportion of people over the age of sixty is increasing worldwide. If in 2012, there were on the planet 809 million elderly people, who made up 11 per cent of the world’s total population, by the year 2050, their number will exceed two billion, amounting to nearly a quarter of the world’s population, or 22 per cent,” the report says.

To assess the quality of life, researchers chose 13 indicators in four key areas: financial security, health status, employment and education as well as enabling environment.

The other positions the country obtained in the survey are, on income security (91), health (73), employment (88), and enabling environment (79).

Among African countries, Mauritius which ranked in the 33rd position, performed better than others in the continent.

The Index focused on measuring the quality of life and wellbeing of older people around the world. It responds to the urgent need to tackle the poverty and discrimination that the elderly face.

The older people want the government to take an affirmative action to enable the aging minority enjoy free medical services after having immensely contributed to country’s social and economic good throughout their young age.

A bundle of papers containing signatures was presented by representatives of the elderly people’s councils during an occasion to mark the World Elderly Peoples Day in Muleba District early this week.

The spokesperson of the elderly Mr Aaron Buntuntu handed over the signatures to Muleba District Executive Officer as a gesture of expressing their grievances over desperate older people who were being deprived of free health services at various facilities in the area.

In their speech to the District Executive Director who presided over the occasion, the older people outlined a number of issues that require immediate attention by government authorities to see to it that they had access to quality and free of charge health services.

“We believe that a number of issues should be seriously taken into account in order to do away with common cases whereby health facilities have refused to comply with the existing policies governing the provision of free health services to the elderly” said Mr Joseph Byabyeyaka in the speech.