Africa
Zimbabwe:
Economic and AIDS Crises in Zimbabwe Force Elderly Women
to Live in Poverty (September 21, 2011)
The elderly in Zimbabwe are the most impoverished members
of society, particularly due to the economic meltdown at
the turn of the century. The HIV and AIDS epidemic
aggravates the situation because the elderly have to take
care of the afflicted younger generation. While NGOs are
dedicated to helping the elderly, the government has yet
to enact legislation to protect them.
Swaziland:
Elderly
Feel the Loss of Extended Family (June 14, 2011)
In Swaziland, urbanization has led younger people to live
in cities while leaving older people in rural areas. Being
separated by long distances, older people endure
loneliness and have to cope on their own. With insecure
pension payments because of Swaziland’s difficult economic
situation, older people need to find ways to survive. More
and more older people, for instance, must look for seeds,
berries and wild berries to augment their food supply.
Zambia: Mobile Hospitals Good (August 12, 2010)
Former health minister Nkandu Luo has said the initiative
by the government to buy mobile hospitals will benefit the
country and has called for training more health personnel
to manage them. Times of Zambia research has shown that
mobile hospitals have in their various forms worked well
in developing countries where health services are not
easily accessed. This will increase access to medical care
for older persons, especially those living in rural parts
of the country.
Americas & Caribbean
Canada: Access to Rheumatoid
Arthritis Specialists an Issue (July 6, 2010)
Nearly 60 percent of Ontario residents with rheumatoid
arthritis do not receive timely
Asia Pacific
China:
Ensuring that Rural Seniors Enjoy their Golden Years is
the Best Way to Address the Population Aging Crisis
(December 8, 2011)
(Article in Chinese)
China’s rural population is aging much faster than its
urban population. Senior citizens constitute 15.4 percent
of the rural population, a figure that is higher than the
national average of 13.26 percent. An adequate pension is
the best way to address the rural population aging
crisis--far better than encouraging larger families as a
form of old-age security. Rural seniors can enjoy their
golden years if they are free of financial burdens. Many
provinces have already begun experimenting with various
social security programs, but these programs need to be
further evaluated and promoted.
China:
Aging
Farmers in Minhou County Will Receive Higher Payouts
(December 2, 2011)
(Article in Chinese)
Aging farmers in Minhou County will receive an
additional 40 yuan payout from January 2011. According to
this standard, male and female farmers aged at least 60
and 55 years respectively can receive a maximum of 180
yuan payout. In 2010, 41,571 farmers received such
benefits.
Taiwan:
Legislature
OKs Farmer Pension Hike (December 2, 2011)
The
Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to the farmer pension
statute to raise monthly payments for old farmers by
NT$1,000 starting next year. The amendment requires the
government to adjust the pension every four years, based
on the country’s consumer price index. It also
disqualifies wealthy farmers from the pension program.
China: Scholar Claims
that China Faces More Rapid Aging in Rural Areas than in
Cities (November 15, 2011)
(Article in Chinese)
A scholar from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
Du Yang, claims that rural areas in China experience more
rapid aging than cities. He thinks that this is due to the
urban-rural duality structure that China adopts in
granting residence, social security and other rights to
its citizens. He proposes that China learn from Japan
since both countries share similar circumstances; like
Japan, China may manage its aging crisis without
compromising economic growth.
Taiwan: President Ma
Details Increase to Farmer Subsidies (October 19, 2011)
President Ma Ying-jeou announced the government’s plan to
increase monthly subsidies for elderly farmers and adjust
the subsidies every four years in accordance with the
Consumer Price Index. Ma said that the additional
subsidies would represent an extra NT$6.8 billion next
year and would benefit 2.87 million people. The plan will
also include an anti-rich clause.
China: Severe
Rural Aging in China Needs Attention (October 9, 2011)
(Article in Chinese)
The rural aging crisis in China is extremely severe. The
rural population in China mainly consists of senior
citizens and children, as most youth migrate to the cities
to work. Professor of retirement studies at the University
of Macau, Dr Cheng Xijie, called for greater government
expenditure on social benefits to enhance the social
security network in rural areas.
Taiwan: KMT
Changes Position on Subsidy for Elderly Farmers
(September 24, 2011)
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) withdrew its
opposition to raise the monthly subsidy for older
personsas proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP). This actioncame after the DPP accused the KMT of
obstructing the amendment to the Temporary Statute
Regarding the Welfare Pension of Senior Farmers. KMT will
coordinate party members after the Executive Yuan haslaid
outthe government’s position within a month.
China: Rural Aging
Population Has Reached 15.4% (September 19, 2011)
(Article in Chinese)
The ongoing National Strategic Response to Aging
Population Research shows that China’s rural aging
population has reached 15.4 percent, higher than that in
the urban areas. However, the cities have stronger
programs to cope with issues of aging. Therefore, China
now focuses more on pension systems for the rural aging
population.
China: China extends
pension program to rural elderly（September 12, 2011）
(Article in Chinese)
Since 2009, about 200 million rural residents have joined
the new rural pension program for the elderly, and more
than 50 million rural senior citizens have received
monthly pension payments. By 2015, all urban and rural
senior citizens are supposed to be covered by pension
programs.
China: Rural
Elderly in Liaoning Would Be Pensioned (May 10, 2011)
(Article in Chinese)
Starting in July 2011, all older people who are insured in
rural Liaoning Province will receive an additional 660 RMB
(RMB=Chinese currency) to their wage. The province is
beginning to implement the rural area pension, intended to
provide rural elders with full coverage. It combines an
individual payment, group payment and governmental
subsidy. As the Chinese economy continues to improve, the
pension for older people should increase even more in the
near future.
Report : China : China’s New Rural
Pension Scheme: Can It Be Improved? (2010)
China has never enjoyed a government financed social
protection system that covered a large fraction of those
who live in rural areas. Some 800 million Chinese older
people live in the countryside. China recently started a
major effort to bring pension coverage to old people in
rural China. Combining the new pension scheme with a
proposed universal social pension might be effective in
reducing elder poverty in rural areas and also lower the
income inequality between rural and urban areas.
China: Study in South China
Shows More People Are Getting Old with No Support from
Their Children (October 25, 2010)
(Article in Arabic)
Chinese study shows that younger generations are leaving
rural areas to start new lives in the cities, leaving
their aging parents behind. The study shows that only 10%
from the 1300 seniors included in the study receive any
form of financial support from their children.
Europe and Central
Asia
France: The Great
March of Seniors (August 30, 2011)
(Article in French)
The association “les Ainés ruraux
d’Aveyron” ("Rural Seniors in Aveyron"), which is the
first association of senior citizens in France, organized
various activities and actions of solidarity throughout
the year. For September, it is preparing a day of hiking
on the famous “Chemins de Compostelle” from France to
Spain. The march will be open to all ages to promote
intergenerational solidarity and to avoid the isolation
experienced by many older persons.
France: Solidarity Minister
Bachelot Visiting a Holiday House for Older Isolated
Persons (August 3, 2011)
(Article in French)
In Brittany, a holiday house managed by the association
Petit Frères des Pauvres, hosts older isolated
persons who rarely have the opportunity to go on holiday.
This year, some Northern France inhabitants have the
pleasure to enjoy the ocean, tides and diverse
visits.
France:
Older
Persons Accompanied to Town (July 22, 2011)
(Article in French)
Every Thursday, this little town in Western France offers
a vehicle providing transportations for older persons
living in the neighborhood to the town. The seniors are
able to go to the little supermarket and purchase enough
food for one week, and also to meet friends there.
France: ADMR, an
Association for Home Service, Helps the Inhabitants
(June 17, 2011)
(Article in French)
In Brittany, the association ADMR (Home Service in Rural
Areas) helps older persons living in rural areas through a
home help service. The experienced volunteers of the
association ensure the autonomy of the old persons who
want to stay in their rural accommodation. They also give
some help for daily tasks along with providing social
support.
France: Vacations to Break the Humdrum of Everyday Life
(June 4, 2011)
(Article in French)
Thanks to the association Aide à domicile en milieu rural (home
support in rural areas), nine older people, ages 80 and
over, enjoyed a 3-day vacation in French Loire-Atlantique.
The association--which looks after older persons in rural
areas--was in charge of transportation, housing and
sightseeing. The trips are often the only holiday of the
year for these seniors.
Spain : Thinking
in Rural (February 14, 2011)
(Article in Spanish)
Only 15%
of the Western population live in the rural areas and
people continue moving to the cities because of the
opportunity for wellbeing: better access to
technology, transportation, schools, doctors, etc.
However, some people, called neorurals, have left the
sophistication of NYC or Geneva for the paths of Ures
(a small town located in the province of Guadalajara
in Spain).
Ukraine : Older Persons
in Mariupol Give Up their Apartments in Exchange for a
Free Funeral (9 February 2011)
(Article in Russian)
Single older persons in Mariupol have contracted with
their local government to give their housing to the city
in exchange for hospice care and funeral costs. The city
takes ownership only after the owner’s death. Eight
seniors have already given their housing to City Hall.
This fact reveals the grave condition of older persons
in the city: they are practically giving their housing
away.
Spain:
Older People as Actors in the Rural Community,
Innovation and Empowerment (November 1, 2010)
(Report in Spanish)
Aging in an active and satisfactory way is linked to
participating in society. In Catalonia, old
people from rural villages attest to this principle.
The study suggests ways to reinforce the community
through strengthening social participation systems
without urbanizing it.
Ireland: Elderly Farmers
Who Are Living Alone ‘Live in Fear of Their Lives'
(October 21, 2010)
In rural Ireland, elderly farmers living alone face
nightly the fear of assaults that take place from time
to time. Terrible attacks have happened.
Experts called for new strategies and programs to ensure
the safety of older persons.
Middle East and North
Africa
Palestine:
Saving the Planet by Taking Older People Back to Nature
(May 15, 2009)
(Article in Arabic)
Often governments and organizations
target young people as the group responsible for
protecting the future of the environment. Recently
however, the Center for the Elderly and the Social Welfare
Department in the municipality of Sakhnin (an Arab-Israeli
city) arranged a “day in nature” for senior citizens.
Hundreds of older people participated in this rural
gathering that attempted to “go back to nature.” They took
part in a series of traditional cultural activities to
emphasize the historical and spiritual link between people
and land, helping to generate a sense of social
responsibility for the environment.
Global
World: IBM to
Develop Mobile Apps for Rural, Aging Population (August
4, 2010)
IBM is joining hands with eminent academic institutes in
India and Japan to find solutions that will help make
mobile phone use more convenient for people who are
illiterate or aged. In order to increase accessibly to
mobile phones in rural areas, the collaboration would
develop applications for mobile platforms that are simple
and easy to use.
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