Elderly people in Bangladesh need more support

Faridpur /Bangladesh – Elderly people in Bangladesh are not getting the protection they need as their numbers grow in the country.

Bangladesh has about 15 million people aged 60 and above; by 2050, their number will increase to 36 million (22 percent of the total population).

The country, now entering the intermediate stage of aging, will reach the advanced stage in another 30-35 years. The “dependency” of older people on the economically active population will increase significantly.

The elderly find it challenging to meet their physiological, psychological, and social demands as a result of many changes. They are most vulnerable in terms of housing, food consumption, and money, as well as participation in family decision-making and societal attitudes and beliefs.

The Deputy Director of the office of Districts Social Welfare, inside the Shanti Nibas (Peace Home) complex, Mr. Ali Ahsan, hailed the conditions of elderly people inside the complex but he called for more medicines for them as they become sick frequently and they need to take to the hospital.

“Older people need more medicines. They need at least BDT 3000-4000 for medicines as they become sick frequently and they need to be hospitalized. For that’s why I think the budget needs to be increased in this regard.”

In 1997, Bangladesh’s government established a means-tested cash assistance program for the elderly in addition to a number of other programs.