Background

India's elderly population (aged 60 and above) is estimated to reach 194 million in 2031 from 138 million in 2021 according to the National Statistical Office (NSO)'s Elderly in India 2021 report. This is a 41 per cent increase over a decade.

Elderly populations are victims of great neglect. Healthcare is expensive and the youth are negligent. This creates a variety of problems, from mental health issues such as loneliness and depression to physical problems of neglect such as falling and getting hurt. There are solutions to empower the elderly and enthuse younger generations to care for those from whom they have inherited this earth.

Awareness is the cornerstone to greater care. The image below shows the susceptibility of elderly populations to debilitating illnesses like diabetes, which can actually be controlled by taking proper care such as regularly timed insulin shots.

The image below further shows a distribution of chronic diseases amongst elderly populations in rural and urban areas. 

According to a study by Down to Earth magazine, as modern medicine progresses and life expectancy increases, elderly populations are more susceptible to illnesses that will hamper the quality of life rather than impact mortality. This includes mental illnesses that are often left out of discourse. Depression, anxiety commonly affects the elderly.

We can change the way elders experience the last leg of life, which should be a grand denouement to a long journey. Elder care is crucial and it is our humanitarian duty to fulfil it.