Pandemic has increased vulnerability of the elderly

Minna Zutshi

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 14

“What I observed during my recent Gurugram visit was a sad story of neglect and isolation,” says Satinder Mahajan, president, Senior Citizens’ Council of Ludhiana. “An emaciated old man – his face listless and unresponsive – would be wheeled to the park where I did my exercise every morning. I engaged his attendant in conversation. I was told that the 87-year-old senior citizen stays with his son and daughter-in-law. My desire to help the senior citizen was stronger than my initial reluctance. Slowly, I gathered more information about him. The man was unable to speak. So, he was not spoken to at all. He was given meals three times a day. The meal time would always be synchronised with that of his son’s. I tried interacting with the octogenarian. Questions about his past evoked a glimmer of life in his eyes. There seemed to be some hope. I tried contacting his son but not much came out of it,” Mahajan explains, sharing with us the details of the case which is not an isolated one.

There are several such cases of the elderly facing abuse and neglect. In a survey conducted in 2018 by Helpage there was a question on what constitutes Elder Abuse. Most elders (at the national level) believed that disrespect (51%), verbal abuse (42%), being neglected (32%), constituted the abuse. One-fourth mentioned economic exploitation too. The extreme forms of abuse such as beating/slapping (20%) were also existent in society, said the survey findings. (Helpage India Report 2018)

The Covid-19 pandemic has accentuated the vulnerability of the elderly. Apart from health impact, it is leading to social and physical isolation that is heightened by the digital divide in society, with the aged having very less accessibility to digital technologies.

“We have to ensure commitment to dignity and the right to health for the elderly. Strengthening social inclusion and solidarity during physical distancing is also pivotal,” says Mahajan. According to SP Karkara, retired civil servant who is the president of the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Association, Ludhiana, awareness is a main weapon. “Neighbourhood societies can play a big role in ensuring prompt and effective intervention in cases of elderly abuse and neglect,” he says.

What the UN believes

The Covid-19 pandemic is causing “untold fear and suffering for older people across the world. Beyond its immediate health impact, the pandemic is putting older people at greater risk of poverty, discrimination and isolation. It is likely to have a particularly devastating impact on older people in developing countries”. (UN Secretary-General António Guterres)

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