Can Africa care for its elderly population?
More Africans are living longer – but many families are struggling to care for them
Africa Daily · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
“I think my mum’s passing was a way of bringing me back to serve humanity. Maybe that’s what she’d have wanted to do for herself. Maybe I’m doing my mum’s work.”
80 million Africans are now above the age of 60. And with improved healthcare that’s a number that’s set to climb drastically in the coming years.
Traditionally, elderly people have been cared for by their families, but now more young people are moving from villages to the city for work, leaving their parents or grandparents on their own.
For today’s Africa Daily, Mpho Lakaje investigates the issues involved, and speaks to a woman who gave up her high-powered job to become a ‘beggar for the elderly’ because she felt she'd failed to look after her own mother when she became ill and died from cancer.