Interventions for older people in sub-Saharan Africa

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Between 2015 and 2050 the number of people aged 60 or more in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to roughly quadruple, reaching over 160 million. Hitherto, international development priorities have focussed on people at younger ages. There is now an urgent need to address this new challenge. It should not be assumed that policies for older people that proved effective in other world regions will be suited to sub-Saharan Africa. Current knowledge about "what works for older people" in the region is very limited.We plan to address this knowledge gap by looking at the effects of three different policies for older people (screening for chronic health conditions, providing basic pensions and extending health insurance coverage) in two quite different countries: Ghana and South Africa. Using survey data that permit analysis over time, we plan to assess impacts of these policies on different aspects of older people's health and well-being. We will pay particular attention to high blood pressure (hypertension) and depression, as these conditions are closely linked to older people's general health and quality of life. Rather than collect our own information, we will make use of a number of existing surveys.Building on insights we generated in a previous study, we will:1) Examine and seek to explain changing patterns of hypertension among older people in Ghana and South Africa. Hypertension is the leading cause of death and serious illness among this group: understanding these patterns will support the development of more appropriate policy responses. We will look at who has hypertension, who is aware they have the condition and who is effectively managing it.2) Assess the impact of screening for hypertension in South Africa on older people's awareness, treatment and control of the condition.3) Assess the impact of Ghana's expanding national health insurance scheme on older people's health and wellbeing, including hypertension and depression.4) Assess the impact of South Africa's old age grant on the health and wellbeing of older people, with a particular focus on depression and risk of death. Our overall aims are to generate valuable research insights and to ensure these are effectively communicated to appropriate policy-makers. As such, a large part of the project will involve engaging with key global, regional and national policy-makers, including workshops, briefing papers and interaction through social media.