Why understanding of aging population in Tanzania is important.

 Population aging is described as the rise in the median age of a population resulting in a shift in the age structure of that population. It is the consequence of a number of factors, including declining fertility rates, decreased premature deaths, and prolonged life expectancies.

One important consequence of an aging population is the shift in the demographic dependency ratio. The total demographic dependency ratio is the ratio of the combined youth population (0 to 15 years) and senior population (65 or older) to the working age population (16 to 64 years). It is expressed as the number of “dependents” for every 100 “workers.” The senior demographic dependency ratio is the ratio of seniors to the working age population.

The demographic dependency ratio is based on age rather than employment status. It does not account for young people or seniors who are working, nor for working age people who are unemployed or not in the labor force. It merely reflects population age structure and is not meant to diminish the contributions made by people classified as “dependents.”

Tanzania’s population is aging simultaneously with its unprecedented growth of the youth population and its related challenges. Tanzania aging population faces a different set of challenges. The aging population is highly linked with long-term physical and mental disability and a number of long-term chronic conditions and will likely increase personal care needs. Yet, Tanzania faces weak health care systems to adequately address these emerging health problems among the elderly.

As well, our country is faced with a lack of viable social safety nets, increased prevalence of poverty, particularly among elderly headed households, and a shrinking cohort of caregivers and is ravaged by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Linked to the HIV/AIDS epidemic is changing family structure where older parents are increasingly caring for grandchildren left behind by victims of HIV/AIDS. It has been estimated that more than 50 percent of the orphans in the country currently live with their grandparents with limited resources and unstable incomes to support their households.
As of 2010, 36 million elderly people aged 65 years and over accounted for 3.6% of Africa’s population, up from 3.3% ten years earlier. In 1980, 3.1% of the population was elderly aged 65 and above and there has been a steady increase during the last forty years. Population aging in Africa is expected to accelerate between 2010 and 2030, as more people reach age 65. Projections show that the elderly could account for 4.5% of the population by 2030 and nearly 10% of the population by 2050.

Population aging is highly correlated with physical and mental disability and an increase in the prevalence of a number of long-term chronic conditions. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) projected that diseases associated with aging such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, accounted for 6.3% of disability adjusted life years. This is significantly higher than the contribution to disability adjusted life years globally of HIV/AIDS (5.5%), all cancers (5.3%), heart disease (4.2%) and respiratory diseases (4.0%). Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia alone account for 12% of the burden of neurological disorders. More recent studies suggest that these conditions are on the rise due to an aging population. More alarming is the evidence suggesting that these conditions will increase more rapidly in developing countries than in developed countries.

According to available statistics, Tanzania with an estimated total population of 44.4 million has about 1.4 million older people (4 per cent of the total population) aged 60 years and above. This figure will increase to 8.3 million (10 per cent of the total population) by the year 2050. In everyday social life, older people are an acknowledged source of information, knowledge, skills and experience. In traditional life both older and young people shared responsibilities. Whereas older people were custodians of customs and traditions, advisers/mediators and child carers, the young people had the responsibility of providing basic needs including food, shelter, clothing and protection. Older people in Tanzania are of various groups that include retirees, peasants, herdsmen and fishermen.