Tara Banu felt shy speaking about her age. When asked again, she ended up saying she was 20. She lives with her husband Gora Dhali in Koyra Sadar of Khulna. Like any other homemaker, she still cooks for her husband and waits for his return. Both of them are mentally strong at this stage of life. When their houses were devastated in cyclone Sidr (2007) and Aila (2009) one after the other, they did not lose hope. They rebuilt their house and life as well.
In reality, Tara Banu is no less than 80 years old. She cannot hear properly these days and does not know how to count. Her husband Gora Dhali is 86 now. At this age, he visits door to door, collects rice, pulse, beaten rice and wheat from his community, and deposits that into the local mosque collection. Though he receives an elderly allowance of 300 taka a month, it is nearly impossible to run a family of two with this meagre amount. He also relies on alms that he collects during his visit. The local mosque allocates a small portion of his total collection as his wage. Gora Dhali does not want to be a burden on anyone; he wishes to be self-reliant and live a dignified life.
According to the Department of Social Service, government allocated 8.91 billion (891 crore) taka this fiscal year 2011-2012 as old age allowance. The number of total beneficiaries of this is 2.475 million. Beneficiaries are getting Tk 300/- monthly per head which is payable in every 3 months. Though the existing allowance may help some of the elderly population, the outer population of this program remains bigger. According to the Population Census Report 2001, the number of elderly people (must be 65 and above) stands at 4,761,700. Unquestionably, at least 2.30 million elderly people still did not receive old age allowance based on population of 2001.
Bangladesh is considered the 8th most populous country of the world with a population of above 150 million (World Population Review). According to one paper by Unnayan Onneshan, the growth rate of the elderly population also increased from 1.6 per cent in 1950-1955 to 2.9 per cent in 2000-2005 and would be increased to 3.1 per cent by 2045-2050. In addition, the WPP (2009) says, life expectancy has increased from 36.6 years in 1950-1955 to 60.7 years in 2000-2005, and is expected to rise to 75.0 years by the year 2045-2050. Now the question arises, is it doable to bring the increasing number of elderly people under old age allowance program? Is it possible to live a decent life with Tk 300 per month? Given the physical marks (chronic disease, bone and joint, eyesight etc) and mental marks (reduced mental and cognitive ability, fear, mental disorder etc) of old age, how are the old age allowance beneficiaries managing their treatment and surviving? It is praiseworthy that the allowance has been increased from 100 to 300 taka in last 16 years? However, the allowance's coverage and amount is too little compared to what is required.
Puti Bibi is not fortunate like Gora Dhali and Tara Banu. She is alone and had lost her parents when she was only 16. She never got married due to her illness. Her body has become curved because of an unknown disease. She used to work in crop fields but lost it, as a shrimp farm requires very little labour. Agricultural labourers like Puti Bibi of her neighbourhoods are also in distress as most of the crop fields have been converted into shrimp farms after Cyclone Aila. Their coping strategies include temporary migration, van pulling, small business etc. Limited mobility of Puti Bibi does not permit her doing hard physical activities. She receives 300 taka per month as persons with disabilities allowance. It does not cover her medication cost, and she needs to get at least a pair of injection every month for her usual movement. She relies on begging, fitrah and zakat for her basic needs.
The world observed International Day for Disaster Reduction on 13th October, 2014. The theme of 2014 International Day for Disaster Reduction was on older people, including their needs and what they contribute to better planning and understanding of disaster risk in their communities. This is the final year of the 'Step Up' campaign that raises awareness on, and advocates for, inclusive disaster risk reduction. People like Gora Dhali, Tara Banu and Puti Bibi speak for the older people who do not accept defeat. All these people are survivors of cyclones Sidr, Aila, and trying to live for themselves and others. Nevertheless, as they are ageing, a more inclusive approach is needed for older people and other special groups for their resilience building.
Given the limited resources, it is difficult for any government to secure a substantial amount for safety net programmes. The government runs a number of social safety programmes for social protection, social empowerment, food security and so on. Acknowledging the fact that Bangladesh is one of the disaster-prone countries in the world, Department of Disaster Management implements SSNP programmes including test relief, food for work, VGF, VGD, RRP, FSED and so on. Most of the assistance depends on the occurrence of disaster. During and after the disasters, not only the older but also the young population suffers from lack of employment. Floods, cyclone, storm and tidal surge, water loggings are regular phenomena for people living in the vulnerable portions of Bangladesh. Therefore, ensuring a permanent and wholesome amount of assistance for elderly people in a disaster-prone area remains a challenge.
Bangladesh is at risks from climate change as well. To protect and improve the lives of older people, more policy level concentration and intervention is needed. The support programmes by government or NGOs must not only focus on the young or able-bodied. The non-government organizations should have mandate particularly for older people to ensure higher quality and effective humanitarian aid. More careful and innovative planning and action plans can be made by consulting with the older people to create income opportunities especially for those living in distant and climate vulnerable parts of our country. Their experience and knowledge will help to come up with adapted assistance for them. The older people need to be engaged in climate resilient livelihood activities based on their physical and mental capability. An age sensitive resilient development planning can help older people to live a respected life.
The writer is a development worker at Islamic Relief, Bangladesh.
E-mail address: aminusu@hotmail.com.
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