Ageing In Developing Countries

In his guide Dr. Tout sets out the available forecasts of increases in longevity, points to ways in which potential problems of aging can be met, and describes programs which have already been successfully adopted in a number of countries.

The increasing life expectancy seen in developing countries has coincided with massive migrations due to urbanization, industrialization, and disasters, both natural and man-made, to cause acute physical and psychological suffering for many old people and their dependents. In this study, Tout takes the first in-depth look at this phenomenon and proposes a new approach to the special needs of the elderly in developing countries. Describing successful national programs already in place for the elderly, he highlights lesser-known difficulties, such as the responsibilities grandmothers may have to assume in the face of heterosexually-transmitted AIDS, and the consequences of the disintegration of the traditional extended family in countries too poor to provide pension schemes.