The dilemma of old age in Africa

Old people's home

Needless to say therefore, that a home for the elderly was unheard of in Africa, especially as people seemed to raise their children for the sole aim of being cared for in their old age. Which is why many people in Botswana vehemently opposed a move by foreign donors to build homes for the elderly. Such an institution, seen as something belonging to the western mentality, was said to be contrary to the extended family system and capable of destroying the social cohesion and morale of the society. Indeed, so strong is Botswana's attachment to tradition that the parliament questioned the executive arm of government on the floor of the House, asking if building homes for the elderly was indeed part of its agenda.

Not surprisingly, the deputy minister of Internal Affairs, Gladys Kokorve, who took the floor to defend the government's policy, denied any attempt by the government to involve itself in the controversial subject of construction of homes for the elderly. Remarkably, Botswana's attachment to its traditions and customs is so legendary that the country still maintains its traditional tribunals known as Kgotlas even in the urban centres. But in recent years, modernity and a whole range of unforeseen factors have begun to creep into the fabric of African life, like a virus in the blood, wrecking the time-honoured tradition of the extended family in the process. An unsavoury drama is playing itself out in many African states.

Ironically, many youths in Botswana, for instance, think that building homes for the elderly is not such a bad idea, especially as some children who happen to leave the villages for work in the cities are unable to take their elderly parents along. Their reasoning is that homes for the elderly would serve the same purpose that homes for the disabled, orphans and the mentally ill do, because most elderly people have been known to end up in the streets like vagabonds, with no assistance from anyone. Furthermore, as the AIDS epidemic sweeps across the society, hitting hardest the younger generation - according to statistics people between 15 and 49 are the worst hit - it is argued that children would no longer be there to cater for their elderly parents anyway. But this argument has also been turned around to favour the idea of leaving the elderly, whose children are infected with the AIDS virus, with their families to care for the orphans that their children would leave behind when they pass away.

Abandoned

The irony of this unsavoury drama is that while the elderly in Botswana consider a home for old people a veritable prison, their counterparts in Zambia possibly consider the same a welcome relief, because of the humiliation they are forced to endure owing to the worsening economic and social situation in the country. With the absence of legislation regarding the rights of the elderly and a political will to bring it about, the elderly in Zambia are reportedly maltreated economically and mentally, often abandoned to themselves by their own children. In most cases, they are said to be physically abused and held responsible for the backwardness of their offspring.

As if this was not bad enough, they are said to have neither the possibility of seeking redress for this maltreatment in the law courts nor the means to seek medical assistance when physically assaulted. One Zambian Human Rights activist, Alfred Zulu, was quoted as saying that his country does not have any internationally recognised provision in its legislative framework to protect and guarantee the rights and well-being of the elderly. Furthermore, he said that the country has neither signed nor ratified the United Nations treaty regarding the rights of elderly persons. Having therefore no possibility of enjoying the privileges reserved for them, the elderly in Zambia often find themselves isolated and traumatised, abandoned both by the state and society.

Greying population

According to AfricaNews magazine, which dedicated its February 2002 edition to the problem of the elderly in Africa, the number of old people in Zambia is rapidly increasing. It reported that in 1990, there were 216,196 Zambians over the age of 65, but that by the year 2050 that number will be seven times higher. The paper was quoting a 1997 population study carried out by the University of Zambia, which based its forecast of an increased number of elderly on a possible decrease in birth rate, better health conditions and low mortality rate. This, according to the study, would have a rather devastating effect on the financial resources of the state, as the number of the elderly in need of social assistance would certainly sky-rocket. In 1993, for instance, only 14% of the elderly benefited from the stateÕs social security system but AfricaNews reported that by 1995, that had jumped to 20%.

Remarkably, this increase in the number of the elderly is not limited only to Zambia. All over Africa, the situation has begun to worry policy makers. In fact, in December last year, about 200 delegates from different parts of the continent came together in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to draft a proposal and an action plan for the elderly under the auspices of the Organisation of African Unity (O.A.U.). This document, which was presented to the O.A.U.'s Labour and Social Affairs Commission at the ordinary session of the meeting of the Council of Ministers and Assembly of heads of state and government, considered several problems facing the elderly, among which was the impact of the AIDS pandemic that has not only robbed them of their children but also added the problem of caring for their orphaned grand children.

Accusations of witchcraft

As many non-governmental organisations have noted, the social and economic situation of the elderly across the continent has been constantly deteriorating, owing to the absence of a social assistance programme and a non-functional pension system in many African countries. Abuse of human rights and discrimination based on age has long been a problem for the elderly as well, with many grey-haired people running the risk of being considered witches. The accusation of witchcraft is common in many African villages, where untimely deaths, accidents and misfortunes have been generally blamed on neighbourhood witches.

In fact, in the Gambaga region of northern Ghana, a sort of concentration camp has been built for witches. Many old women, most of whom are said to have confessed, under duress, to practising witchcraft, have forcibly been taken to the camp known as the Gambaga Witch camp. The deplorable conditions under which they live reportedly attracted attention in 1996, when the national television beamed images from the camp to a shocked population. But, as the government does not seem to react in any way, the Gambaga Witch Camp has become something of a tourist attraction. Remarkably, many old people in Ghana are now said to have dyed their grey hair for fear of being considered a witch. Such is the dilemma of old age in a continent where ageing was once a way of life, if not, indeed, a pleasure.