Quality of life among elderly in developing countries: issues and challenges

Unlike developed countries, the process of ageing in the developing country is a major and serious concern where the health infrastructure, geriatric system and social security remain underdeveloped. This paper aims to assess the gaps in quality of life among the elderly by socio-economic and demographic characteristics and to know the issues and challenges in the selected developing countries where Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) namely China, India, Ghana, South Africa, Mexico, and Russia has been conducted. The overall score indicates that there is a little variation in the quality of life across the countries, ranging from 52.1 (China) to 45.5 (Ghana). However, there is considerable variation in the quality-of-life score by socio-economic characteristics. From the existing policy perspectives, different aspects of old age policies are varied across the selected countries. The rapid expansion of the private sector into these areas is unlikely to benefit the bulk of the elders. The countries like India, South Africa and Mexico, where the private sector plays a major role, lack health care support for the elderly. However, financial support significantly contributes to the quality of life in terms of policy intervention in those countries. Thus, the respective governments need to address urgently the areas like health care, financial and social security to achieve the healthy lives and wellbeing for all of the sustainable development goals by 2030.