Aging Population In Ghana

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND

The number of older people is increasing tremendously throughout the world and Sub-Saharan Africa and Ghana is no exception. Improvements in hygiene and water supply and control of infectious diseases during the past century have greatly reduced the risk of premature death (Mapule, 2002 p.1). This shows that, adults are surviving longer generally because during the past-half century, epidemics of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and respiratory diseases have been controlled. The continuing gains in the survival of infants and young children indicate that the adult population is on steady increase. Grigsby, (cited in Bongaarts and Zimmer, 2002 p.145), also contended that, “mortality and fertility

In view of this, the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002) and the African Union Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing (2002) recommended that states provide social pensions for older people (Helpage International, 2008). However, in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the issue of ageing has so far received little attention from both policy makers and researchers (Parmar, 2014). Most elderly living in the global South and to be specific Ghana are confronted with many challenges ranging from health, social, economic, cultural, political, and environmental - that has received no or minimal attention from the very institutions responsible for their needs. Unlike most other population groups such as children and the youth, there is relatively little interest shown by the government and researchers about the situation of older people. The absence of comprehensive information means that ageing is poorly understood and, as a result, adequate resources are not allocated to meet the needs of the older population (Abdulai,

The WHO publication on the global burden of disease 2004 update cited in WHO 2008 Ghana country assessment report on ageing and health provides evidence of the changing trends in disease patterns around the world. The publication shows that, low-and middle-income countries face a double burden of high levels of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Majority of older people die of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, rather than from infectious and parasitic diseases. Preliminary analysis based on 2010 Global Burden of Disease Data identifies cardiovascular and circulatory disease, nutritional deficiencies, cirrhosis of the liver, and diabetes as major causes of disability-adjusted life years in sub-Saharan Africa 's older population (Aboderin and Beard, 2014). A study carried out by Ayernor in 2012 on Diseases of Ageing in Ghana using the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) conducted in 2005 in Ghana also confirmed non-communicable diseases as one of the major diseases found among the older persons in Ghana. This is not to say that older people in Ghana and elsewhere are prone to NCDs alone. In addition, they usually experience a plethora of health challenges at the same