STATEMENT BY MODERN THINKERS FOUNDATION ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF OLDER PERSONS

Theme:Ageing with Dignity: The Importance of Strengthening Care and Support Systems for Older Persons Worldwide"

Population ageing is a major global trend that is reshaping the demographic makeup of societies worldwide. Nationally, there are about 2 million people aged 60 years and older which constitute about 6.5 percent of the population. As populations age, the demand for comprehensive healthcare, care, and social support services will grow substantially. Older persons constitute a heterogeneous group with diverse health needs, requiring different levels of care and support. Traditionally, the care burden has fallen on extended families, thus relying on the family as an informal system of support. However, changes in family size and dynamics, population ageing, and other social and economic trends are undermining these traditional support systems.

As we celebrate this day, it is important to know these national statistics provided by the Ghana Statistical Service in the 2021 Population and Housing Census.

• 17.2 % (342,345) of the older population live alone in single-member households.
• About 563,285 (28%) of the older population in Ghana are not covered under any form of health insurance.
• More than a quarter (25.8%) of the older population have difficulty in physical activities such as walking and climbing of stairs, followed closely by difficulty in seeing (22.8%).
• About a quarter (510,117) of the older population are multidimensionally poor.
• About four in ten (41.5%) of the older population are food insecure.