Aging in Sub-Saharan Africa: Recommendations for Furthering Research

369 Pages·2006·1.89 MB·English

by  National Research Council, Panel on Policy Research and Data Needs to Meet the Challenge of Aging in Africa

Aging in Sub-Saharan Africa
Recommendations for Furthering Research
Panel on Policy Research and Data Needs to Meet the
Challenge of Aging in Africa
Barney Cohen and Jane Menken, Editors
Committee on Population
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Govern-
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councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineer-
ing, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for
the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropri-
ate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. N01-OD-4-2139, TO#119 between the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Institutes of Health and the Na-
tional Institute of Aging. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations
expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-010281-0
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Suggested citation: National Research Council. (2006). Aging in Sub-Saharan Af-
rica: Recommendations for Furthering Research. Panel on Policy Research and Data
Needs to Meet the Challenge of Aging in Africa. Barney Cohen and Jane Menken,
Eds. Committee on Population, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Edu-
cation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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www.national-academies.org
PANEL ON POLICY RESEARCH AND DATA NEEDS TO
MEET THE CHALLENGE OF AGING IN AFRICA
JANE MENKEN (Chair), Institute of Behavioral Science and Department
of Sociology, University of Colorado
ALEX EZEH, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi,
Kenya
EDWELL KASEKE, School of Social Work, University of Zimbabwe
BARTHÉLÉMY KUATE-DEFO, Department of Demography, University
of Montreal, Canada
DAVID LAM, Department of Economics, University of Michigan
ALBERTO PALLONI, Department of Sociology, Institute for
Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin at Madison
STEPHEN TOLLMAN, School of Public Health, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
ROBERT J. WILLIS, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
BARNEY COHEN, Director, Committee on Population
ANTHONY S. MANN, Senior Project Assistant
v
COMMITTEE ON POPULATION
KENNETH W. WACHTER (Chair), Department of Demography,
University of California, Berkeley
ANNE C. CASE, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University,
New Jersey
EILEEN M. CRIMMINS, Department of Sociology, University of Southern
California, Los Angeles
BARBARA ENTWISLE, Carolina Population Center, University of
North Carolina
JOSHUA R. GOLDSTEIN, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University,
New Jersey
BARTHÉLÉMY KUATE-DEFO, Department of Demography, University
of Montreal
CYNTHIA B. LLOYD, Policy Research Division, Population Council,
New York
THOMAS W. MERRICK, Center for Global Health, George Washington
University, Washington, DC
RUBÉN G. RUMBAUT, Department of Sociology and Center for Research
on Immigration, Population, and Public Policy, University of California,
Irvine
ROBERT J. WILLIS, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
BARNEY COHEN, Director
vi
Acknowledgments
This report adds to the empirical and conceptual knowledge of the
situation of older people in sub-Saharan Africa and makes practical sug-
gestions for further research in this area. The report is based on a work-
shop organized by the Committee on Population in collaboration with the
Health and Population Division, School of Public Health, University of the
Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, in July 2004. The report
draws on a number of papers commissioned for the workshop, on the
comments made by a panel of distinguished discussants, and on the discus-
sion by workshop participants.
Many people made generous contributions to the workshop’s success.
We are grateful to our colleagues, Alex Ezeh, Edwell Kaseke, Barthélémy
Kuate-Defo, David Lam, Alberto Palloni, Stephen Tollman, and Robert
Willis, who served on the panel that was charged with organizing the work-
shop and preparing a document that outlined the priority research areas
in relation to aging in sub-Saharan Africa. Belinda Bezzoli, deputy vice-
chancellor for research of the University of the Witwatersrand, and Richard
Suzman, of the National Institute on Aging, supported the planning of the
workshop and participated throughout. We are also especially grateful to
the various authors and discussants who prepared papers or presentations
in advance of the meeting: Mary Amuyunzu-Nyamongo, African Popula-
tion and Health Research Center; Ayaga Bawah, Navrongo Health Research
Center; Peter Byass, Umeå University; Samuel Clark, University of Colo-
rado at Boulder and University of Washington; Gloria Chepngeno, Univer-
sity of Southampton; Mark Collinson, University of the Witwatersrand;
Myles Connor, University of the Witwatersrand; Rob Dorrington, Univer-
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
sity of Cape Town; Alex Ezeh, African Population and Health Research
Center; James Fairburn, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Michel Garenne,
French Institute for Research and Development (IRD); Victoria Hosegood,
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Gillian Hundt, University
of Warwick; Kathleen Kahn, University of the Witwatersrand; Benoit
Kalasa, United Nations Population Fund; Edwell Kaseke, University of Zim-
babwe; Abdhalah Ziraba Kasiira, African Population and Health Research
Center; Paul Kowal, World Health Organization; Barthélémy Kuate-Defo,
University of Montreal; Rodreck Mupedziswa, University of the
Witwatersrand; Randall Kuhn, University of Colorado at Boulder; David
Lam, University of Michigan; Murray Leibbrandt, University of Cape
Town; Frances Lund, University of KwaZulu-Natal; M. Giovanna Merli,
University of Wisconsin; Tavengwa Nhongo, HelpAge International;
Alberto Palloni, University of Wisconsin; Karen Peachey, consultant; Dorrit
Posel, University of KwaZulu-Natal; M. Omar Rahman, Independent Uni-
versity, Bangladesh; Vimal Ranchhod, University of Michigan; Kalanidhi
Subbarao, The World Bank; Negussie Taffa-Wordofa, African Population
and Health Research Center; Ian M. Timaeus, London School of Hygiene
& Tropical Medicine; Margaret Thorogood, University of Warwick;
Stephen Tollman, University of the Witwatersrand; Eric Udjo, Human Sci-
ences Research Council; Servaas van der Berg, University of Stellenbosch;
Victoria Velkoff, U.S. Census Bureau; Robert Willis, University of Michi-
gan; Martin Wittenberg, University of Cape Town; and Zewdu Woubalem,
African Population and Health Research Center.
The Committee on Population was extremely fortunate to be able to
enlist the help and cooperation of the staff and faculty of the Health and
Population Division, School of Public Health, University of the
Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Particular thanks are due to
Stephen Tollman for his invaluable assistance facilitating the meeting and
to Dereshni Ramnarain for her assistance in ensuring that the meeting ran
smoothly and successfully.
In Washington, DC, several members of the staff of the National Acad-
emies made significant contributions to the report. We thank Kirsten
Sampson Snyder for her help guiding the report through review, Christine
McShane for her skillful editing, and Yvonne Wise for managing the pro-
duction process. The project took place under the general direction of Jane
L. Ross and Barney Cohen. On behalf of the panel, we thank them for their
efforts.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for
their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with proce-
dures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Com-
mittee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and
critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional
standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge.
The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect
the integrity of the deliberative process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in
the review of the report: Ronald Angel, Department of Sociology, Univer-
sity of Texas at Austin; Channing Arndt, Department of Agricultural Eco-
nomics, Purdue University; Yael Benyamini, School of Social Work, Tel
Aviv University; Peter Byass, Department of Public Health and Clinical
Medicine, Umeå University; Benjamin Campbell, Department of Anthro-
pology, Boston University; David Canning, Department of Population and
International Health, Harvard School of Public Health; Julia Dayton, con-
sultant; Gary V. Engelhardt, Center for Policy Research, Syracuse Univer-
sity; Bibi Essama, Westat; Monica Ferreira, The Albertina and Walter Sisulu
Institute of Ageing in Africa, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Gary
Fields, Department of Economics, Cornell University; Kathleen Ford, De-
partment of Epidemiology, University of Michigan; Lucy Gilson, School of
Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand; Mark Gorman, Depart-
ment of Economic and Social Affairs, HelpAge International; William T.S.
Gould, Department of Geography, University of Liverpool; Ellen Idler, In-
stitute for Health, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey; Benoit Kalasa,
advisor, United Nations Population Fund; Peter Lloyd-Sherlock, Faculty of
Social Sciences, University of East Anglia; Monde Makiwane, Child, Youth,
Family and Social Development, Human Sciences Research Council,
Pretoria, South Africa; Douglas L. Miller, Department of Economics, Uni-
versity of California, Davis; Akim Mturi, School of Development Studies,
University of KwaZulu-Natal; Sendhil Mullainathan, Department of Eco-
nomics, Harvard University; Laura Rudkin, Department of Preventive Medi-
cine and Community Health, University of Texas; Joshua Salomon, Depart-
ment of Population and International Health, Harvard University; Gigi
Santow, independent researcher; Doreen Tempo, Department of Social
Policy and Social Work, University of Oxford; Joseph R. Troisi, II, Depart-
ment of Psychology, Saint Anselm College; Etienne van de Walle, Depart-
ment of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania; Stig Wall, Department of
Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University; Alan Whiteside,
Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division, University of
KwaZulu-Natal; Alun Williams, Centre for Human Ageing, University of
Queensland, Australia; Martin Wittenberg, School of Economics, Univer-
sity of Cape Town; Zewdu Woubalem, African Population and Health Re-
search Center; and Zachary Zimmer, Policy Research Division, Population
Council.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive
comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions