ageing
South Africa is facing an overall ageing of its population, both in terms of the increasing number of older persons (60 years or older) and in terms of making up an increasing proportion of the population as a whole. For the next two decades, the older population is expected to continue growing more rapidly than other age groups, requiring far-reaching social and economic planning and adjustment.
As older persons have particular individual needs and specific collective requirements from society, the increased numbers and proportions of older persons call for increased attention to the country’s older persons and an increased response towards the changing age structure of the population.
The demographic ageing of a population is usually related to important changes in the health status and disease patterns within that population: from a predominance of infectious, parasitic and nutritional conditions to a growing number of non-communicable and chronic conditions. While the total South African population suffers a unique quadruple mortality burden, consisting of the dual communicable/non-communicable burden, with the addition of high rates of injury and HIV/AIDS, the majority mortality burden in the older population is from non-communicable disease.
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