The average life expectancy in Bangladesh has improved further. According to a recent report revealed from the bureau of statistics, the average life expectancy at birth in the country was recorded at 72 years in 2017. It was 71.6 years in the preceding year. Certainly this is good news.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics also mentioned that the average life expectancy of a female in the country is now better than the male. The average life expectancy of a female at birth was 73.5 years in 2017 against 72.9 years earlier. For male, it was 70.6 years in comparison to 70.3 years in 2016.
Though the bureau did not elaborate the reasons for the positive trends, it is obvious that the child mortality rate has come down significantly in the country over the years. This downward trend can be attributed to increased primary health care network, improvement in literacy, enhanced awareness about child health care and effective immunisation programmes. All these have yielded the good results and as it is said, Bangladesh is now far ahead among many African and Asian countries in this sector.
The question now comes how to extend appropriate care for the elderly and ageing population. Improved healthcare and education will obviously increase life span of the people in any society. However, how we use this ageing population or how we care about this segment of the people poses the new challenge.
In any society, elderly people would need several aspects of care, whether from individual level or that of societal. As they go away from the productivity arena, they mainly suffer from psychological disorders besides clinical and physical fitness aspects.
By now we see a lot of "old homes" being established across the country, mostly with private initiatives. This is truer in the urban areas as in the rural setup the elderly are still in the grip of traditional closely knit family bondage. The elderly in the rural areas still have respect and command in the family and community. In the urban areas, the elderly people feel problems of being well-cared because of busy life style of the younger generation. So, the concentration of all efforts of taking care of the elderly people is becoming commonplace in the urban horizon.
It is good that thoughts and initiatives are taking place for care of the elderly people. However, it is now imperative to have a national policy and action plan in this regard. While the elderly citizens should be provided with fast-track or special facilities in mobility, banking, housing and medical care, there should be regulatory control on the "old homes" to ensure that these elderly people get their desired comfort and security. The private sector can come up with befitting programmes under the umbrella of their Corporate Social Responsibility activities. As one American philanthropist once said, "to care for those who once cared for us, in whatever capacity and manner, is one of the highest satisfying rewards one can achieve".
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