Elderly population growing very fast in Sri Lanka compared to the rest of the world
Statistics provided by the Central Bank on overall poverty and the poverty levels of elders are not reliable as there are differences and therefore these computations have to be reviewed.
This was pointed out by Suminda Singappuli, Director, National Secretariat for Elders at the ‘National Conference on Inclusive Micro Finance System for Elders’ at the UDA auditorium, Battaramulla this week.
He stressed the need to establish a comprehensive pension scheme encompassing the entire aged population of Sri Lanka above 65 years.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Samantha Liyanawaduge, Executive Director, HelpAge Sri Lanka, told the Business Times that the Elders Protection (Amendment) Act No. 5 of 2011 specifies that elders should not be discriminated on account of age.
He pointed out that despite the provisions of this Act it is common for financial institutions such as private, commercial and state banks to debar those who are above 60 years from obtaining any loans.
He said that they had invited the representatives of these banks to attend the meeting to persuade them to lift this restriction and allow the elders to obtain loans. Unfortunately, he said, no representatives from such financial institutions attended the conference.
The Sri Lankan elder population over 60 years would, eventually exceed the working population below 30 years in another 10 to 15 years and therefore it is necessary to take concrete steps to ensure the financial security of the elders and to help them be economically active, he said. At the meeting it was also revealed that the main microfinance companies will conduct a conference with HelpAge Sri Lanka to discuss the possibilities of granting microfinance loans to senior citizens in the country.
Dr. Gamage Karunaratne, Director – Training, National Secretariat for Elders, making the keynote speech on ‘Productive Aging and Micro finance’, said the United Nations have cautioned that the population aged over 60 years in the less developed countries would increase significantly over the next 30 years while the working population would decline by 49 per cent by 2050.
Sri Lanka is the highest in the South East Asia with this demography, he said. One reason attributed, he said would be the extensive use of ‘birth control’ that reduces the birth rate. Decreased infant mortality, children being a major expense, life expectancy going up, improved housing, nutrition and increase in wealth and medical advances are other reasons.
Elders are abused by deliberate action or negligence that harm them such as physical, sexual, psychological, emotional and financial, he pointed out.
Some of the challenges of ageing, he said, are ageing and poverty, social isolation, retirement, care giving, elder abuse, prejudice and discrimination and finding means (money). According to the WHO, he said that active ageing is the process of optimising opportunities for health, participation in social, economic, cultural, spiritual and civic affairs and security in order to enhance the quality of life as people age.
There are opportunities for the elders to be actively involved in the economy, he said and such opportunities could be the leisure industry, social work and senior services, adult education, medical industry, care industry, research and writing and the tourism industry.
In the context of micro finance, he said that Sri Lanka could learn from countries like Bangladesh, Belgium and Romania on personal micro credit, professional micro credit, etc. He talked about the Grameen Bank concept of Prof. Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh and quoted Prof. Yunus as saying that ‘credit is a powerful weapon’.
Dr Karunaratne said that Grameen is a success and it has granted loans to the tune of US$3.8 billion to 2.4 million rural families in Bangladesh. He said that microfinance initiatives have been in operation in more than 100 countries embraced by governments, NGOs and international organisations.
Berendina, envisioned to create an empowered society to eradicate poverty from this country, is to become a co-partner with HelpAge Sri Lanka in empowering the aged through micro finance.
Dulan de Silva, Executive Director, Berendina said that they have formed 155 elders clubs with a membership of 6,894 and their activities extends to organising pilgrimages, sports meets, health services small savings and credit, etc.
In 2014 they have helped 923 destitute families spending Rs. 7 million at Rs 1000 per family, he said. In the plantation sector they have assisted 198 in cataract surgeries.
Their contribution to Helpage’s micro finance programme is around Rs 8.2 million, he said.