Caribbean to have 7.4 million aged persons by 2025

SOCIAL Development Minister, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, said it is projected that by 2025 the older adult population in the Caribbean will constitute over 7.4 million people, representing 17.3 percent of the total projected population. He said besides the challenges the situation presents, there is also need for intellectual and cultural adjustments, as aging has become a worldwide phenomenon with significant socio-economic implications. He was speaking at the first Caribbean Ageing Symposium at the Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s earlier this week.

Abdul-Hamid said demographic data in 1998 revealed that the Caribbean had over 3.6 million people over the age of 60 years. He explained that the population is considered to be aging when ten percent to 12 percent of the total population is aged 60 years and over. He said the trend towards an aging population was occurring in both developed and developing countries, with more than half of the world’s elderly now living in developing nations. The minister told participants that one of the cultural norms shared among Caribbean communities in general and TT in particular, “is to regard their family members as de facto caregivers of their elders.” As a result, he said every effort must be made to “preserve the independence and good health of older persons.”

Adding that there must be “adequate social interaction and the involvement of the community in transforming the negative stereotypes associated with growing old, and enabling a new way of thinking, so that this age group is not marginalised but is welcomed into the mainstream of society.” He emphasised that the elderly had a wealth of knowledge and expertise which can be offered to all of us. He identified the three factors which contributed to population aging as low fertility rates, low mortality rates and migration. As to the challenges which would confront the aging population and their families, Minister Abdul-Hamid said these included such “issues as loneliness, changes in family organisation, reintegration of returned migrants, widowhood, health care and retirement, as well as economic issues.”

Among the economic issues he said were “problems of financing oneself in old age, inadequate pensions and social security, homelessness and poverty, as well as health issues such as long-term hospitalisation, the cost of health care and the need for efficient caregivers in the family and institutional settings.” He boasted that this country was making strides towards developing “a society for all ages,” which started with the establishment of the Division of Aging last year and continuing with the Draft National Policy on Aging, which is out for public comment, as well as amendments to come to the Homes for Older Persons Act 2000. Abdul-Hamid said the Geriatric Adolescent Partnership Programme (GAPP) was also offering annual training programmes for caregivers of older persons.