Sessional Paper No. 02 of 2009 on National Policy on Older Persons and Aging

Abstract

The population of older persons is increasing at a very rapid rate all over in the world. It was about 200 million in 1950, rose to 606 million in the year 2000 and is projected to reach 1.2 and 2 .0 billions in 2025 and 2050 respectively. In Africa, the population of older persons, 60 years and above is currently estimated to be 42 millions and is projected to reach between 205 and 212 millions by the year 2050. The majority of these older persons in Africa are women living in the rural areas, differences in gender increases with age. This unprecedented rise in the number of older persons presents a major challenge to the sustenance of their well being in the society. This is particularly in light of the apparently unfavourable environments which is characterized by increased social conflicts, globalization, socioeconomic difficulties, deterioration of cultural values and morals, perennial man-induced and natural disasters and lately the HN/AIDS pandemic. In 1982, the United Nations through its resolution 37/51 convened the first ever World Assembly on Aging in Vienna Austria to address issues pertaining to older persons and their implications on national development. This was later critically reviewed and reformulated through the International Plan of Action on Ageing agreed upon during the Second World Assembly on Aging in April 2002 in Madrid, Spain. The African Union also formulated and adopted its Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Aging in July 2002 focussing on older persoris on the continent. Kenya is a member of the United Nations and African Union is signatory to these declarations. In the Kenyan situation, the number of older persons; 60 years and above has risen dramatically, from the modest number of 270,00 during the first National Population Census Report in 1949 to I .4 million during the 1999 National Population and Housing Census. This is against the background of the total population rise from 5 .4 million in 1949 to 28.7 million in 1999. The population projections for the years 2010 and 2020 indicate a modest rise of the total population to 36.5 and 43.1 millions respectively with that of older persons rising from 1.5 to 2.2 millions respectively.