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Chronic poverty among aged
United Nations Integrated Regional
Information Network (IRIN.news.org)
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Older women often supplement their pension with other income |
A
quarter of all older people living in South Africa may be classified as
chronically poor, with most living in households earning less than US $100
per month.
According to a recent report commissioned by HelpAge International (HAI),
South Africa has one of the most rapidly ageing populations in Africa,
with a particular increase in the 64- to 74-year age category, from 25.8
percent of the total population of older people in 1996, to 26.5 percent
in 1999.
The report, "Chronic Poverty and Older People", noted that while
the aged in
HAI noted that in some cases acute poverty was brought on by events during
the period of "near old age". These events, such as the death of
a spouse, the report suggested, had a negative impact on the future
well-being of older people, because it stripped the aged of assets
accumulated during their economically active years.
Pensions were often the only source of income in the family. Moreover,
pension-sharing was seen as an integral coping mechanism in cash-strapped
households. The study highlighted that pension-sharing was often seen as
conducive to the social integration of old age pensioners.
Many of the female interviewees provided child care without payment in
cash or kind, and a quarter provided the accommodation where the family
was living without financial assistance.
In the northern
"Indeed, it is alarming to note that almost 20 percent of 'frail old'
people are still collecting water, and that chronically poor people in
this age group are more than twice as likely to be collecting wood and
water than the 'not-poor,'" the report said.
HAI highlighted earlier research, conducted between 1996 and 1998, which
showed that the poor old were more likely to have experienced illness or
disability than non-poor older persons of all ages. A chief concern among
the poor old was access to health care and financial resources to meet the
need for food, clothing, affordable transportation and community services.
Research also showed that older rural dwellers had a lower level of
education and poorer health status, and that fewer received a government
pension than their urban counterparts. "Yet, more older urban
dwellers (particularly women) were depressed, felt less respected by the
family, and were far less satisfied with their living arrangements than
were rural dwellers," the report noted.
Overcrowding in urban areas was the main cause of dissatisfaction among
the old. However, the extended family was seen as an important safety net
for the old.
There were also concerns over abuse among the poor old. During a survey
prepared for the
The aged were playing an increasing role in supporting family members
living with HIV/AIDS or children orphaned by the disease. Grandmothers in
the study complained of the lack of funds to take sick members of the
family to hospital or pay for funeral expenses.
The report concluded that because chronic poverty was not yet an
"analytical concept" adopted by South African policy-makers,
"most policy does not specifically target the chronically poor".
HAI called for further research into the living conditions of the aged,
with a particular focus on how public policy intervention could reverse
the negative impact of poverty on the aged.
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© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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