Older people remain marginalized in financial, health coverage in Bangladesh

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Giasuddin Patwary, 66, moved to the capital Dhaka a couple of years ago, failing to manage employment in his village in Mehendiganj of south-central Barisal district.

Patwary, a rickshaw puller who lives in a shabby slum in the Bangladeshi capital with his wife and two daughters, is scarcely aware of the International Day of Older Persons on Oct 1.

Due to his poor economic condition, he was unable to put any of his five daughters, two of whom he has married off, through high school, he told Anadolu Agency.

"It's becoming tough to pull the paddle of the rickshaw with my fragile bones due to my aging health. But, I have no other option to survive and feed my family of four. And, despite repeated visits to local government offices, I couldn't register for old age allowance from the government."

Patwary is among 15 million elderly in Bangladesh who still have to work in their old age due to a lack of public or private pension and health coverage. Many are often abandoned by their adult children despite a law protecting the rights of elderly parents.

Like many developing countries, the senior population is on the gradual rise here, as well. Older adults are among the most vulnerable groups in Bangladeshi society due to physical weakness, disease, and lack of job opportunities or proper health care, read an article in the peer-reviewed quarterly journal Aging International.

Over nearly the past two years, COVID-19 has also become a prime concern for many of them. Out of total coronavirus-related deaths in Bangladesh, 54.09% are among individuals aged between 61 and 90 years.

Despite this, inoculation with COVID-19 vaccines is comparatively low among this group.

- Growing elderly population to pose major challenge

Md. Aminul Haque, a professor at the Department of Population Sciences in the University of Dhaka, told the Anadolu Agency that the proportion of the aging population was growing very fast, with the current proportion being 6.7% and 7.1% of the country. This figure is projected to reach roughly 20% by 2041.

Despite this, the country does not make use of tools like the Active Aging Index (AAI), which is used to detect and track the active and healthy older population in countries, said Haque.

"We have to consider all the four components -- health, participation, security, and income to determine the prevailing condition of elderly people in Bangladesh. And, the country is lagging in those indicators," he added.

"There is a law to protect the elderly parents' rights in Bangladesh. But, parents don't feel good lodging lawsuits against their child, citing social and family honor and social values. Therefore, we have to emphasize building awareness and extending care for elderly parents," the population expert explained.

- Need to develop health care

Health expert Morseda Chowdhury, told Anadolu Agency that public services remained limited for older adults from both the government and the private sector.

"We recently conducted a pilot project under our non-communal disease program where we treated people with illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure, those who need a long-time medicine," said Chowdhury, who is the director of the health, nutrition and population program at the Dhaka-based BRAC development organization.

"We found that 90% of the elderly successfully improved their routine and health condition. The patients also had improved memory, taking medicine on time after we dedicated a community health facilitator for them from health screening to medicine consumption," she said, adding: "We certainly need to develop a proper healthcare system and family support.”

The health specialist added that experts and non-governmental organization, needed to speak out for advocacy campaigns for senior citizens at the government level.

- Government in planning phase

Mohammad Ismail, an additional secretary at the Social Welfare Ministry, told Anadolu Agency that more than 800,000 older people were enrolled during this fiscal year by the government in the national old-age allowance, raising the program's total number of beneficiaries to 5.7 million, though these receive only a monthly stipend of 500 Bangladeshi takas, amounting to almost $6.

"We're working on a plan to launch special coverage primarily for some 2.7 million elderly people aged 90 years or above," he said.

The Social Welfare Ministry has already held meetings with Health Ministry to ensure that elderly people are prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination, added Ismail.

The Health Ministry has a strategy to prioritize elderly people in the national inoculation campaign, as they are the most vulnerable to the virus, he also noted.

In Bangladesh, about four out of five people 60 years and older suffer from chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, depression, and dementia, according to a study of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, known also as icddr, b.

The study revealed that one in two older people suffered from a common chronic disease.