Icon Our WorkFacing Our Future: Ageing in a Changing Uganda

The challenges and opportunities offered by a growth in older persons in Uganda are identified in this Government of Uganda report, released for International Day of Older Persons 2018.

To gain a full understanding of the issues ahead of new legislation for older persons, the Ugandan Ministry of Labour, Gender and Social Development and Expanding Social Protection programme commissioned research on the situation of older persons in Uganda. This special publication, preceding a full report, encompasses the experiences of older persons in the context of Uganda, a country where average life expectancy at birth only recently crossed 60 years of age. Facing Our Future: Ageing in a Changing Uganda, authored by Anasuya Sengupta and Sarina Kidd of Development Pathways, encompasses older persons’ voices on how they view service provision and provides recommendations on how the Government should mainstream ageing within development.

Findings include how while two-thirds of older persons in Uganda are economically active, still two-fifths are below the international poverty line of UGX2,700 per person per day; and how extending the Senior Citizens’ Grant nationwide for every person aged 65 and above would reduce old age poverty by 20%.