“Africa is going through a revolution,” said Rev. Dr. Samuel Ayete-Nyampong. “There has been a sudden explosion of people living beyond 60 years. But there are no provisions for seniors.”
Ayete-Nyampong is the former director of social and ecumenical relations for the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. He was in Canada in March to solidify relations between the PCG and the Presbyterian Church in Canada — a final conversation as his six-year term came to an end.
“I call on all churches, including the PCC, to support projects on elder care,” he told the Record. “If we bless them, they will bless us when they leave this life.”
The number of seniors living in Africa has jumped in the last few decades due largely to advances in medical resources. According to a report from the World Health Organization that draws on United Nations statistics, Africa’s older population is expected to increase almost fourfold between 2005 and 2050: from 36.6 million to 141 million. And though seniors accounted for less than five per cent of the total population of sub-Saharan Africa in 2005, the numbers are projected to grow to 8.3 per cent by the middle of the century.
The statistics aren’t the same in countries hit hard by HIV, but generally speaking, the population is aging — though governments do little to care for this segment of society.
“Families used to live together, but with social change, the young people are leaving rural areas for the city, and the old people are abandoned. They’re left without anyone to care for them,” said Ayete-Nyampong.
He said too often outreach programs focus on everyone but the elderly.
“The elderly aren’t educated, so when they’re left alone, they aren’t able to improve their condition. And often, the elderly are taking care of HIV-positive adults, who leave the city because of stigma. They return to the rural areas to hide, putting a burden on their older parents.”
That’s why he has devoted his life’s work to highlighting the plight of Africa’s seniors. He serves as chairman of the Presbyterian National Committee on Ageing in Ghana, and is founder of the Christian Action on Ageing in Africa. In 2009, he was elected president of the African Association of Pastoral Studies and Counselling, and has written five books on the subject.
Although the PCC has an established partnership with Ghana, its programs do not specifically target seniors — save for a new Presbyterian World Service and Development project in Gambaga which supports women ostracized from their villages on charges of witchcraft.
“People lack an understanding of the ageing process,” he said. “So when old people behave poorly, they think it’s witchcraft and they banish them.”
He is helping to educate villages on diseases like depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s — so these problems can be helped rather than feared.
International Ministries helped print Ayete-Nyampong’s first book, and provided funds so he could attend international meetings on ageing.
