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T H I
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Iraq: Elderly in Iraq Caught between Retirement and their Children’s Immigration (February 14, 2008)
(Article in Arabic) |
The retired in Iraq suffer the double blow of an inadequate pension system and their children’s emigration from the country. They eke out a living by selling cigarettes and other small goods on the street and begging their remaining relatives for help.
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World: United Nations: Launching Geneva Lecture Series, Secretary-General Says Global Food Crisis Chance To Address Root Problems Of World's Poorest, Majority Of Whom Are Small Farmers (April
30, 2008)
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Global Action on Aging always keeps an eye on the UN’s work. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke in Geneva about the situation of the world’s 100 billion poorest people. He focused on the food crisis, the risks in the current situation, the missed opportunities to take action over the last recent years. And he projected important goals to respond to the current crisis. Interestingly, he speaks about his personal childhood experience of hunger and poverty and mentions his grandparents’ situation as they suffered from starvation in Korea.
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Algeria: How Many are Left? (May 6, 2008) |
The author depicts what happened to 200,000 people who stayed in Algeria after French decolonization. Many felt lonely after their family and friends departed and they were encouraged to return to France to spend their old age. Others continued to enjoy solidarity among their Arab neighbors. Read this history now being written about French nationals in an independent Algeria.
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US:
With HIV, Growing Older Faster (February 5, 2008)
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Netherlands: More Willing to Work up to Pension Age (May 6, 2008)
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It used to be that HIV/AIDS was uncommon among the elderly because infected individuals did not survive into old age without effective treatment. However, with advancements in HIV/AIDS research, antiretroviral drugs have been developed to curb the symptoms of the infection, but not without severe side effects. When taken in combination—often called “cocktails”—the drugs have allowed HIV patients to live longer, but the side effects are causing some patients to show physical signs of aging much sooner than normal. The onset of depression, a common psychological effect of aging, is also developing sooner in older HIV/AIDS patients. It has been estimated that approximately a quarter of a million persons currently living with HIV/AIDS are 50 years and older.
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The Netherlands
Social Affairs Minister claimed in a new study that
workers in his country understood they had to work longer.
Indeed, the study showed that in 2005, only one out of
five people was ready to work until age 65. It is one out
of three today. Forty-four percent of people who are under
20 years of age said they want to work until 65. In the
Netherlands, as in most European countries, the government
is offering financial compensation as incentives for
workers to continue to work and contribute to the pension
fund.
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Germany: Change as Germany's Population Goes Grey (April 27, 2008) |
Germany has the highest population in Europe and the third oldest population in the world, which presents both a strain on public finances to provide pensions and healthcare and an opportunity for innovations in the marketplace. Now, aging figures in political discussions prior to 2009 elections, as parties vie for the elderly vote. The current administration has been criticized for increasing pensions while opponents talk about a “war of generations” requiring young people to pay the bills for elder care.
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Nigeria: In Nigeria, HIV/AIDS Spares Neither Older Persons nor Young People (May 3, 2008)
(Article in French) |
A new article from IRIN, an information service attached to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reveals that more than 4 million Nigerians are infected with HIV/AIDS, making it one of the top countries in the world to suffer the devastation of this pandemic. UNICEF officials said there are 1.8 million orphaned children in Nigeria whose parents have died from the disease. Grandparents often have the responsibility for providing care for their grandchildren, as well as their own adult children.
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China: New Pension Payout for Rural Elders (April 14, 2008)
(Article in Chinese) |
Rural elders 60 years or older and on a pension can expect to receive a new basic payout of 280 Yuan. This is in addition to their monthly pension payout. The government will bear the cost of this new increase and will contribute 1.98 hundred million Yuan for it. The new payout is expected to complete disbursements by the end of April 2008.
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