DC Edit | Govt Responsible for Senior Care

One of the startling facts that tumbled out of the White Paper on the fiscal management of Tamil Nadu that was released on Tuesday was the expected rise in the elderly population, which is projected to go up to 18.2 per cent by 2031. Though the White Paper aimed at pointing out the financial goof-ups of the previous government and suggesting remedial measures, the nugget of information on the possibility of the old age dependency ratio rising from 20.6 in 2021 to 32.7 by 2036 is rather alarming and calls for immediate action by the government. For as such, geriatric care is not an agenda of any government since the aged are not seen as a vote bank by parties.

Even the White Paper views the issue primarily as a narrowing of the tax base and expresses concern over the danger of a state growing old before becoming rich. But the real worry should be on how the state could reorient itself in caring for the expanding elderly population, when geriatric care is not at all a priority when it comes to social welfare. The efforts should start with training more geriatricians. But more than medical care, the elderly population needs psychological, financial and other support in an era in which children flying off to distant lands in search of greener pastures is a common and recurring phenomenon.

Besides, governments would have to come up with systems and structures that would protect senior citizens of the country from the evil designs of scamsters who are always on the prowl looking for gullible persons. So even as the government is all set to address the state’s financial crisis identified through the White Paper, it needs to look into the multi-faceted problems faced by senior citizens, particularly those in the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder. While there is a proliferation of opulent care homes for the affluent, the government should ensure that the hoi polloi, too, enjoys the privilege.