Policy Brief : ageing, social protection, and Covid-19 pandemic in Africa

Abstract

The ageing population in Africa has been growing both in relative and absolute terms in the last three decades. The “Madrid Declaration” identified three priority areas in its Plan of Action for the Ageing (MPIAA). The first area of priority is to ensure the ageing population are full participants in the development process and can benefit from the opportunities afforded. The second priority area is the protection and preservation of the health and well-being of the ageing population. The third priority area focuses on ensuring enabling and supportive environment for the ageing population. This brief review and appraises the progress African governments have made to care for the ageing population taking note of these pillars. The rest of the brief is organized as follows. Section 1 presents the trends in the ageing population in Africa, the main socioeconomic drivers, including public policies; Section 2 provides evidence on the state of poverty and inequality among the ageing population in Africa based on household surveys, including at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Section 3 documents progress that have been made since the last review of the Madrid Declaration in 2018, identifies policy gaps. Section 4 concludes by providing areas of emphasis for policy action.