Aging in Nigeria: A Growing Population of Older Adults Requires the Implementation of National Aging Policies

Abstract

While the continent of Africa currently has the lowest share of adults ages 60 and older in its population among all world regions, the total number of older Africans is projected to triple between 2020 and 2050. Nigeria—Africa’s leading economy and most populated country—has the highest number of older people in the continent and the 19th highest across the globe, with the population of Nigerians aged 65 and older projected to nearly triple by 2050. However, the increase in older Nigerians is occurring against the backdrop of extreme poverty, unsolved development problems, socioeconomic inequality, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and a decline in the traditional care and support of older adults. Additionally, the absence of an operational national aging policy or safety net services and programs poses a unique challenge to older Nigerians and their families. In this paper, we examined social statistics and the current literature to describe aging in the Nigerian context. Our findings highlight the importance of establishing effective governmental policy interventions for the adequate care and support of older Nigerians and the training of gerontological professionals. This paper will describe the demography of aging in Nigeria, significant areas of research, key scholars and publicly available datasets, public policy issues, and emerging issues affecting the health and well-being of older Nigerians.

The Magnitude of Low Vision and Blindness: Association with Socio-Demographic Determinants and Ocular Pathologies Amongst Adults in Enugu, South-East Nigeria

“…Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa [4] and a home for large number of aging population. [5] Despite the exponential growth in aging population in the country and the consequent rise in number of people with low vision, Nigeria has no welldeveloped low vision and rehabilitative services. Studies have shown that 85% of those living with low vision may stand to benefit from improved functional vision if low vision services are made available.…”

Education as a Catalyst: Assessing the Influence of Advocacy Communication on Preventing Elder Abuse in South-West Nigeria

“…Despite this, elder abuse occurs when these individuals in need of care and protection are neglected, lacking access to essential services such as healthcare, mental health support, and basic necessities (Olasupo & Odunjo-Saka, 2021). The well-being of older individuals in Nigeria is greatly influenced by the support they receive from their communities and the state (Mbam et al, 2022).…”

Examining the indirect effects of life satisfaction and perceived social support on selection optimization compensation and PTSD among the senior citizens of Ekiti State: A moderated mediation approach

“…) Moreover, as the population of older adults grows, they are considered to face challenges related to their mental health conditions, especially life satisfaction (LS). It has been reported that senior citizens in Ekiti State are experiencing a decrease in life satisfaction (Arogundade and Adebayo (2011;Aina et al, 2023), with growth in older adults and decrease in mental health facilities (Chima et al, 2022). Indeed, this is the opposite of what is happening in Europe or Western society.…”