world is over the age of 60 years, and this will increase to 1 in every 5 persons by 2050. There are more people over the age of 60 years than children under the age of 5 years, and by 2050, people aged over 60 will outnumber children under 15 years of age,” he stated.
While increasing longevity is one of humanity’s greatest achievements, it also presents social, economic and cultural challenges to individuals, families, societies and the global community. There are more than 1 billion people around the world living with some form of disability, which makes around 15-20% of the world’s total population. 80% of persons with disabilities live in developing countries and face a greater risk of living in poverty.
Globally, more than 46% people aged 60 years and over live with disabilities, and in some low-income countries, 43% people aged 60 or above live with a disability. Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world; it is amongst those 15 countries where population of people over the age of 60 is more than 10 million. It is estimated that 7% of the total population of Pakistan is over 60, with a figure of 11.6 million, which will rise to 43.3 million by 2050. Population ageing is happening faster in Asia and especially in South Asia. Different countries around the world are developing new legislations and modifying existing ones for protection of rights of older people.
Dr. Haider Zaman, president of the National Centre on Ageing, highlighted the findings of survey studies, which revealed that older men and women are facing a number of accessibility issues, health issues and income security.
Muzaffar Mahmood Qureshi, former federal secretary, said, a large proportion of the elderly are dependent on their families. “There are no government schemes for older people. The state must implement the Law on Protection of Rights and Interests of the Older People,” he added.
Two key panel discussions were an important part of the workshop. The first one was on ‘Social Protection Issues and Older People and Persons with Disabilities’ while the second was on ‘How Older People and Persons with Disabilities can be included in Social Protection Programmes.’