The Cuban population is aging faster than expected

The Cuban population is aging faster than expected / 14ymedio, Orlando Palma
Posted on May 4, 2015

14ymedio, Orlando Palma, Havana, 28 April 2015 — In a park in Central
Havana the Grandparents' Circle meets every week for physical exercises
that help to prolong a healthy life. A few yards away, the line to buy
rationed bread is also filled with gray-haired people more than six
decades old.

The aging of the population is moving at a more accelerated pace than
foreseen by the plans developed to deal with the consequences. This
issue will be addressed at the 7th International Longevity Seminar to be
held at the Palace of Conventions in Havana from Monday until Thursday.

The Cuban speakers at this event will present their proposals for how
the healthcare system can meet the challenges of offering high quality
care to adults age 65 and older who represented 18.3% of the population
in the 2013 census and could exceed 25% in 2025. The situation is
aggravated if we consider that the active working population won't
exceed 60% in the same year, according to studies by the National Bureau
of Statistics.

In an interview with the newspaper Granma, Dr. Alberto Fernández Seco,
head of the Department of the Elderly, Social Assistance and Mental
Health in the Ministry of Public Health, said it has increased both
geriatric services in the country as well as the number of residents in
this specialty. "That is a great strength. However, the greatest
challenge that we all have, not only in the healthcare sector, is the
issue of care."

In this concept of care aimed at seniors, we need to concentrate
material and human resources, and improve infrastructure. Seemingly
minor details, like the size of the text in public notices, the
streetlighting schedule to allow pedestrians to pass along the main
streets, the presence of chairs in the waiting rooms of institutions, in
addition to other more visible and urgent aspects such as the poor
condition of sidewalks or lack of information on the issues that matter
most to older people.

The training of caregivers for the elderly is a true specialty in the
modern world. We must learn to communicate with this sector, which at
times becomes very sensitive to the codes of respect and understanding
evidenced by the younger generations. To the extent that the number of
elderly people increases, there will be a greater use of wheelchairs,
walkers, special beds and mattresses, as well as the consumption of
vitamins, medications and other supplies.

The desire to live 120 years or more, which was proclaimed in Cuba with
the intensity with which the political slogans are launched, is a noble
goal that is only viable and sustainable if it is based on a solid
economic base. Most experts agree that to ensure a better old age Cubans
will have to provide incentives for births and increases in the
productive population. At the same time, we must provide opportunities
for young people so they will not seek a better life abroad.

In the next 35 years Cuba could become one of the most aged nations in
the world, which would not be exclusively the consequence of increased
life expectancy, but also of the fact that fewer children will be born
and more young people will emigrate.

Source: The Cuban population is aging faster than expected / 14ymedio,
Orlando Palma | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-cuban-population-is-aging-faster-than-expected-14ymedio-orlando-palma/