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.