Largest greying population in India

[1]

India has the largest greying population in the world — 130 million senior citizens who constitute 10 per cent of the total population.

However, with dropping fertility rates and increasing longevity, the elderly population is likely to shoot up, adding to the burdens of the productive population, predict experts, who are attempting to create protocols to shelter and treat elders, to keep them as healthy and independent as possible.

British Deputy High Commissioner, Mike Nithavrianakis explains that the situation is the same even in the UK, but they have had several years of experience in caring for the elderly.

“While the National Health Services provides medical care to all elders free of cost, the cost involved in treating disorders like dementia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s is higher than the expenditure on cancer, heart disease and stroke,” points out Mr Nithavrianakis.

“In addition, the UK has 127,000 people living with Parkinson’s disease and one in every 20 patients develops the debilitating disease before the age of 50,” he added.