Elderly persons and students participate in a intergenerational walkathon on Monday. Telegraph picture

Oct. 1: A little above 30 per cent of the elderly in the country have faced some form of abuse or the other, according to a report jointly published by a UN agency and an NGO.

According to the report prepared by the United Nations Population Fund and HelpAge International titled Ageing in the Twenty-first century: A Celebration and a Challenge, among those abused, 56 per cent did not report it to anyone, to preserve “family honour”.

The report was made public in the city today on International Day of Older Persons. The theme for this year is healthy ageing.

Also, among other chronic diseases, the elderly suffer the most from hypertension, which accounts for 12 to 19 per cent of diseases here.

While 63 per cent of the elderly above the age of 50 smoke regularly, 93.5 per cent of women above the age of 50 years do not consume sufficient nutrition.

Moreover, the Northeast chapter of HelpAge India conducted an inter-generational walkathon in the city today.

Nearly 300 elderly people and school and college students participated in the walkathon to create awareness on the various problems faced by the elderly.

The report revealed that women tend to live longer than men. In 2012, for every 100 women aged 60, there were 84 men. The population of elderly is increasing at 3.9 per cent compared to 1.3 per cent of the total population.

“Thirty-one per cent of the elderly are abused, mostly at the hands of their own family members. Their children emotionally abuse some of them, as they consider their aged parents to be a burden. Some are financially abused when their children force them to transfer property, but their aged parents mostly do not wish to, as they want to be financially independent. Fifty-six per cent of those abused do not report in the name of family honour. Only when the situation worsens, they report it or seek legal help,” said Nilondra Tanya, the Northeast head of HelpAge India.

“It is essential that all stakeholders, comprising the government, civil society, private sector and communities join hands to provide essential health and social services, along with a minimum income to the aged people. We also have to develop a support system by involving the families to ensure that frail older persons receive long-term care to promote healthy and active ageing. The needs of the elderly should be included in national-level development policies and programmes. A new rights-based culture about ageing has to be promoted and people have to change their mindsets and societal attitudes towards the elderly,” said Tanya.