A major topic of concern during our stint as an executive council member of the Asia-Pacific Alliance of YMCAs and eventually as an executive council member of the World Alliance of YMCAs was, and maybe still be, about the ageing population of many countries in the world.
So fast is the growth of the ageing population that health and social services of countries are stretched to accommodate the growing number of frail and vulnerable people who now face competition over the declining resources of governments, which are also challenged with the increasing demands of financing pensioners.
That was a concern more than two decades ago and this concern remains up to the present. The ageing population starts with those who are 65 years old and over, and with life expectancy having reached 80 years for men and 86.2 years for women, coupled with low fertility rates at 8.8 births per 1,000 heads of the population, the world is heading towards an increasingly top-heavy population model, according to studies that we have been reading here in Barcelona.
It has been observed that many countries have, in fact, raised the age of retirement, the latest of which is France where the government action led to violent public protests, have something to do with ageing population concerns.
The consequence on public services for a society beset with an ageing population is that governments face challenges of higher spending commitments combined with fewer contributions to social security schemes, a shrinking workforce, and many people in need of state support.
The increase in the number of senior citizens plus the impact of the demographic shift on the rest of society is also linked with the economic crisis. Cuts in public and private funding to the healthcare system, the freezing of pensions and the general impoverishment of the population affect the lives of the elderly.
The increase in the number of senior citizens plus the impact of the demographic shift on the rest of society is also linked with the economic crisis.
In Barcelona, a pensioner with an average retirement pay cannot afford to hire help for home care. With its large ageing population, about a quarter thereof, the risk of social exclusion and isolation of its senior citizens is increased. Thus, for example, where once before when a citizen seeks an appointment with a designated family doctor for consultation, it would only take a day to wait. But now, it could take a week because of the numerous requests for an appointment.
For an operation, it will take more than two months to get a schedule, except in extreme emergency cases, whereas before it took only about two weeks at the most. Even when calling for an ambulance, the waiting time could take an hour. Good, if the seniors can afford costly private insurance where they can be attended to as needed.
The Dependency Law (Ley de la Dependencia) was enacted years ago in order to improve the quality of life in a situation of dependency due to disability, illness, or advanced age by providing dependents with funds for home care. But with the increased number of dependents, the finance home assistance fund has been spread thinly and no replenishment could be sourced out by government and budget cuts are impeding the realization of the purpose.
About 26% of elderly people are living alone in Barcelona and only a few could afford alternative living conditions, as a consequence. Some suffer from loneliness, isolation, and sporadic contact with their family members.
The Red Cross devised the “Emergency Home Alarm” system which is available to elderly or disabled people in need of home monitoring. A person wears a pendant around their neck and presses it in case of emergency. This then automatically activates their phone, contacting the monitoring child on their behalf and summoning help.
In the Philippines, most senior citizens are fortunate as they can still rely on their children to take them into their homes and care for them—a custom deeply rooted in Filipino culture. The elderly pensioner could, in turn, give their share to the family budget, assist in childcare, and even pick up their grandchildren from school so their parents can continue working and avoid exorbitant childcare costs.
There’s a lot to learn from the experiences of other countries for us to prepare for this ageing population concern. Of course, the natural thing to do is to answer a common question of the elderly, especially retirees: What else in life is there for me to do?
Other than the elderly people who have laid out plans for the remainder of their life and have enough or even more than enough to maintain their good quality of life, and have maintained positive mental attitudes of the world, the government, hand in hand with civic socially oriented organizations, must develop a sustainable program to involve senior citizens in neighborhood associations, alternative movements, and civic centre activities, including involving themselves in protests on the economic inequalities of today by recalling the same fervor they once felt of old political struggles from the past.
We see them everywhere, the “laioflautas” or “grandpa tramps” all over Spain and Europe.
