Reaching out to the elderly

In India, there is a steep increase in the elderly population, compared to that of the last century. Thanks to the scientific experiments and the improvements in the healthcare system, the life expectancy has increased manifold during the 20th century. The 80 million elderly population of India will stand in testimony of this fact.

A study on the problems of the elderly in India, has shown that about 50 percent of the people above 70 years are subjected to at least one chronic disease and it has a negative impact on their health, attitude and life. Kerala, which has a better healthcare system than that of other states in India, too can boast of an increased life expectancy, hence an increase in the population of the elderly. According to studies, those who are above 60 years will constitute 20 percent of the population in the State, by 2021.It is high time the Government came up with some policies for the elderly, especially in the healthcare sector.

There are some plans to use the primary health centres to reach out to the elderly in the rural area and to provide them proper treatment. But the aged in Kerala usually resort to traditional Ayurvedic medicines, as they are without side effects. So they go for a treatment in the nearby kerala ayurvedic center than consulting with an allopathic medical practitioner. Hence it is important to bring the Kerala Ayurvedic centres too under the purview of Government healthcare programmes for reaching out to the aged.