Tokyo, The PRAKARSA - The PRAKARSA had the opportunity to share the results of his research on elderly issues in Indonesia at the event Asian Conference on Aging & Gerontology 10th in Tokyo, Japan. Wednesday (27/3/2024).
Victoria Fanggidae, Deputy Director of The PRAKARSA and Eka Afrina Djamhari, Research and Knowledge Manager of The PRAKARSA on session breakout presented the results of his research on "Living alone in the elderly: the need to increase institutional support to reduce the dependence of the elderly on communities in areas with low resources."
Victoria and Eka said that the shift in Indonesia's demographic trends is currently starting to occur Aging Population has increased the dependency ratio. This means that the proportion of individuals who are potentially dependent on support from the working age population will increase. Apart from that, Victoria added, unfortunately 1 in 10 Indonesians currently live in poverty.
"Even though there are integrated efforts and various interventions that have been carried out by various parties, the poverty rate in Indonesia is still relatively stagnant, around 10% since 2016," said Victoria.
The next demographic trend that is emerging is the increasing prevalence of elderly individuals within families. By 2023, three out of every ten households will now have Seniors as part of their family structure. Meanwhile, in 2019, at least two out of every ten households had elderly family members.
These trends underscore the urgent need to address the challenges and implications associated with Aging Population in Indonesia.
Eka said that currently, based on BPS data (2022), there are around 18 provinces that have an elderly population proportion of more than 10% of their total population. This indicates that a large part of the population is transitioning to an older age group.
On the other hand, institutional support such as the availability of elderly care homes is still limited. "There is no definite data on the total number of elderly care homes in Indonesia. "However, if you look at the limited number of government-owned care homes, this shows that the elderly in Indonesia are dependent on private institutions and initiatives," added Eka.
In fact, continued Eka, the dominance of private ownership may also indicate different service standards and accessibility, especially for low-income individuals and marginalized communities who may not have many choices.
Seeing this problem, Victoria conveyed a number of recommendations that the government could implement. "To overcome the problem of the lack of elderly care institutions, both in terms of number and quality - including the standardization of the care workforce, the government needs to invest significantly in building care facilities such as nursing homes or nursing homes, especially in areas with a larger number of elderly people and high poverty. "Apart from that, the government also needs to integrate state assistance programs and services in care facilities, especially state-owned ones," concluded Victoria.
