Elderly rising: Number of senior citizens to quadruple by 2050

By 2050, senior citizens will constitute 15.8% of the estimated population.


Our Correspondent October 02, 2012

ISLAMABAD:


A report titled ‘Ageing in the Twenty First Century - A Celebration and a Challenge” was launched on Monday by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and HelpAge International.


According to the report, there are currently 11.6 million senior citizens in the country, which make up 6.5 per cent of the population. This will rise to 43.3 million people by 2050, which would account for roughly 15.8% of the estimated population.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Akbar Hayat, vice president of Senior Citizen Foundation, after the launching ceremony said,  about 40% of senior citizens are living in rural areas of the country and there is hardly any organisation working for their welfare.

The reason he told is that generally people working for their welfare are reluctant to visit rural areas due to dirt roads, lack of transportation and residential facilities among others.

Shahzad Malik, chief of Population and Social Planning at the Planning Commission, said it is true that there is not much work done by the government for the elderly as there is no set policy. Pakistan lack elderly-friendly facilities such as public transport specifically designed for them, or accessible shopping malls and restaurants.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2nd, 2012.

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