Abstract:

A macroanalysis of the major issues of aging & the responses of developing countries to them. Developing countries seek to reduce population growth but do not generally provide for the problems & needs of the old, even though their health-care programs reduce mortality & increase the proportion of elderly in the population. Most elderly are below the poverty line; they enter old age with no savings & in poor health, & due to structural changes in the economy, have few employment opportunities. The small nuclear family deprives the old of the special treatment given them in traditional times, & makes them feel frustrated & isolated. Medical care in these countries is concentrated on family planning & possibly child care, but not on old age care. There is an urgent need for state intervention into the care & protection of the old, various types of which are discussed: income support, geriatric services, counseling, incentives for family, & institutional care.