Mexico:
More Than 800,000 Seniors Live in Extreme
Poverty (July 21, 2012)
(Article in Spanish)
Mexico has a population of 10.8 million older
adults, and more than half do not have sufficient
resources to live with dignity. More than
800 million survive in extreme
poverty.
Cuba:
Evaluation of abuse to the elderly belonging to
an university polyclinic (2012)
(Article in
Spanish; Abstract in English)
A study of 3,382 Cuban seniors concluded that
younger participants are more often impacted by
psychological pain, financial abuse by family
members, and neglect. Furthermore, older men
face nearly all forms of maltreatment from family
members. Their children and grandchildren
perpetrate the maltreatment. 46.4% of the
participants reported psychological abuse and
27.8% described neglect. Children (40.5%)
and grandchildren (24.3%) are typically
responsible.
Bolivia:
Maltreatment to Older Adults Climbs 244% in 1
Year (June 17, 2012)
(Article in
Spanish)
Reports of abuse and mistreatment of seniors
submitted to the City Defendor (el Defensor del
Pueblo) sky rocketed by 244% in one year. In
2010, only 355 abuse reports of older adults were
registered in 16 offices. During the past
year, 1,154 abuse reports were submitted.
The majority involved psychological and physical
pain caused by their relatives.
Mexico:
More Than 800,000 Older Persons Live in Poverty
(June 14, 2012)
(Article in
Spanish)
Some 10.1 million persons of at least age 60 years
populate Mexico and represent 9% of the total
population. Seven million of these older
adults live in poverty; among these, 800,000
elders survive on the extreme, low-income side of
the spectrum. Diabetes is the principle
cause of hospitalization and death. On the
other hand, in a group of 100 older individuals,
estimates suggest that 26 older adults will have
some form of disability.
Cuba:
Over 1,500 Centenarians (May 6, 2012)
(Article in
Spanish)
A recent study conducted by Cuban geriatricians
and demographers revealed the habits of over 1,500
Cuban seniors over 100 hundred years old. The
study found that frequent exercise was an
important component in improving the mood,
cognition, physical function, and life of the
older Cubans. According to the United Nations,
Cuba will be among the countries who share the
greatest aging population by 2050, as 39.2 percent
of its inhabitants will be over the age of 60. A
report funded by the National Office of Statistics
and Information found that by 2024 Cuban elders
will have the greatest longevity in comparison to
all other Latin American and Caribbean
countries.
Canada:
Quebec: More Jobs for Those Aged 55 and Older in
2011 (April 23, 2012)
(Article in
French)
The Statistical Institute of Quebec has published
its latest report concerning the labor market for
2011. It introduces a whole new trend: the
increasing employment rate of people over
the age of 55 years. Indeed, from 2010 to 2011,
this population group gained 28,000 jobs, an
increase of 4.4 percent. To explain this
phenomenon, economists put forward the lengthening
of life, more favorable work conditions for
seniors and financial difficulties.
Canada:
Restrictions
for Older Drivers? (April 3, 2012)
(Article in
French)
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) would like
to see restrictions for older drivers implemented.
An editorial in the CMA Journal maintains that
some seniors suffer from "substantial physical and
mental deterioration" and are at risk for
accidents as drivers. There is concern about fatal
car accidents, representing one death per day in
the country for people aged 65 and older. Older
people see this as pure ageism, retorting that
they may be more fragile, but they are still able
to drive safely.
Chile:
Elder
Abuse
Increasing in Chile (April 2, 2012)
(Article in
Spanish)
Elder abuse in Chile has increased by 38 percent,
and in 70 percent of those cases, family members
are to blame, according to Activa, a
non-governmental organization. Activa’s Director,
Gloria Requena, is asking authorities to
prioritize public policy in this area. She
specifically wants the Director of The National
Service for Seniors (Senama in Spanish) to
generate statistics on elder issues to inform the
public about what is going on.
Mexico:
Credit
Institutions
Limiting Seniors (March 30, 2012)
(Article in
Spanish)
In Mexico, seniors are often denied or offered
limited access to credit because of their age. The
National Commission for the Protection and Defense
of Users of Financial Services (Condusef in
Spanish) has urged lending institutions to
consider the needs of this particular market.
Unfortunately, the majority of banks limit credit
and financing options for seniors up to 65 years
of age, sometimes 69. The National Bank of Mexico,
Banamex, recently announced that they have raised
the age limit for loans to 79 years and eleven
months.
Colombia:
Difficulties
Faced
by Hundreds of Elderly in Cali (March 25, 2012)
(Article in
Spanish)
In Cali, Colombia there are more than two thousand
elders living on the street. In fact, the elderly
make up 30 percent of the 6,000 homeless people in
the city. While the government has an obligation
to care for senior citizens who are abandoned by
their families, there isn’t enough room to
accommodate them in the nursing hostels. Guillermo
Zapata, a doctor and manager in one of the two
convalescent homes in Cali, says that there isn’t
the necessary financial support to care for 350 of
their senior residents. Of the four billion
dollars the home needs yearly to operate, the
government only provides half of the funds, and
few senior citizens (only 26 percent) have
pensions to help curb the costs of eldercare. What
is to be done?
Canada:
Report on Euthanasia Raises Concerns (March 22,
2012)
(Article in
French)
The Special Commission on the issue of dying with
dignity has released its report on the situation
in Canada, worrying Bruno Marchand, president of
the Quebec Association for Suicide Prevention.
According to him, allowing these practices
surrounding the end of life adds extra pressure on
elderly patients. There are also concerns that the
Swiss scenario in which the conditions of access
to euthanasia have continuously been extended,
might repeat itself in his country.
Canada: Canada
Urged to Segregate Elderly Prisoners (March
19, 2012)
In Canada, the
number of elderly persons being sent to prison
is greatly increasing. To address the human
needs of older offenders, Canada is being
encouraged to follow an American model of
accommodating those prisoners by separating them
into age-specific units like The True Grit
Senior Structured Living Program in Nevada. The
True Grit Program appeals to the safety,
interests, physical abilities and health issues
of convicted seniors, with no added cost to the
state. However, critics say that True Grit is
not strict enough on elderly offenders of
serious crimes.
Paraguay: Older
People from San Francisco de Asis Ask for Fruits
and Visit (March 7, 2012)
(Article in
Spanish)
Nursing Homes in San Francisco de Asis have 70
elders, 22 women and 48 men. They were abandoned
by their families and picked up from the street by
the authorities. Thanks to the nursing home, they
have what they need to survive; however, they want
love from their family. Their only friends are
nursing students and some volunteers from
Mennonite Central Committee.
Canada: 'Aging in
Place' Plan is Road to Private Care: Critics
(January 26, 2012)
The State of
Alberta has announced that older Albertans who
can no longer live independently will be placed
permanently in new facilities called “continuing
care centers” instead of being placed in
different homes as needs increase. Senior
advocates and opposition parties critiqued the
plan for lacking details and not addressing the
real issues in elder care which include
insufficient hospital beds.
