Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, has re-emphasised Government’s commitment to improving the lives of the elderly in Barbados.
And, he disclosed that Government was contemplating placing elderly care facilities in every parish to allow non-governmental organisations, such as the Soroptimists, to run them.
Mr. Humphrey outlined this during the Barbados Alzheimer’s Association’s launch of its Memorial Space in the National Botanical Gardens, recently.
“We got good at extending life so people live longer, but they don’t live better. A lot of the work, that we are going to have to do, has to be in relation to making sure people can live better in this country.
“That is why the Geriatric Hospital is being expanded; that is why we are upgrading the Vauxhall Senior Citizens’ Home; upgrading Lancaster House. We are contemplating as a Government putting facilities in every parish and allowing NGOs like the Soroptimists to be able to run those facilities,” the Minister pointed out.
Mr. Humphrey explained that while Barbados was good at extending life, the society was getting older and persons were having less children.
He said this presented a “very serious concern” for the country as it affected the dependency ratio. “That is the ratio of the working population to the non-working population and the cost for supporting the non-working. As the society becomes older and has less children, you have a smaller population in the middle to be able to support both the younger and the older,” he explained.
The Minister noted that at some point the country would need to have a serious conversation to deal with the issue because Government alone would not be able to deal with the situation. “There are just too few people who are working or born to be a part of the working population,” he said.