The World Health Organisation, WHO, Monday, stated that over the next three decades, the number of older persons worldwide is projected to more than double, reaching more than 1.5 billion persons in 2050.
WHO Country Representative, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, said this during the National Summit On Healthy Ageing in Nigeria with the theme: “Decade of Healthy Ageing in Nigeria: Situation, Challenges and Transformative Pathway.”
WHO reiterated the commitment to support and actively participate in the partnership journey towards achieving the desired outcome in line with the UN resolution for Decade of Healthy ageing.
“Globally, there were 703 million persons aged 65 or over in 2019.
“Apart of Northern Africa and Asia, the second fastest increase is projected for sub-Saharan Africa, where the population aged 65 or over could grow from 32 million in 2019 to 101 million in 2050,” he said.
Dr Mulombo added that despite spare data on older persons, Nigeria is not spared from these alarming figures with about 14.8 million aged 60 years and above.
