MAGOGO: In rural Uganda, grandparents increasingly walk children to school and tend family gardens, reflecting a broader trend of longer lives across East Africa.
According to WHO projections, the number of people aged 60 and older in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to more than double by 2050. This creates both pressures and opportunities for families, communities, and governments alike.
Yet, amid hardship, older adults continue to play central roles in holding households together, nurturing the young, and passing on cultural knowledge.
“We used to say old age was a blessing,” says Sarah Nansubuga, who runs an elder-care support group in Kampala. “Now we see it’s a blessing and a responsibility. Families, leaders, and all of us must find ways to make those years dignified.”
From Uganda to South Africa, policymakers and communities are debating how to adapt to a growing older population.
Some warn of strain on families and health services, while others point to opportunities for intergenerational care and learning.
Across Uganda’s villages, children play, climbing jackfruit trees, racing bicycle tires, and laughing through schoolyards. Their presence is a familiar and celebrated sight. Nearby, however, older adults are quietly navigating a new reality. They are living longer, yet many face limited pensions, scarce healthcare, and ongoing poverty.
Dr. Emmanuel Mugerwa, who shifted from pediatrics to geriatric care at a local clinic run by Reach One Touch One (ROTOM), sees the connections between young and old. “Both of them are suffering,” he says. “Both of them don’t have a lot of things that they need.”
Uganda’s demographics reflect this intersection vividly.
Roughly half the population is under 18, while the elderly, though a smaller share, are growing rapidly.
Government statistics show that children and people 75 and older have the highest poverty rates, and households often combine these age groups.
Around one in six households with older adults is “skipped generation,” with grandparents raising grandchildren.
At a ROTOM campus, a school shares its grounds with a home for seniors. Uniformed children pray in an open-air hall just across from a room where staff care for elders. Among them is 94-year-old Rose Liru, who arrived at ROTOM with bruises reportedly inflicted by a family member. Her grandniece and great-granddaughter, 11-year-old Brenda Mungulu and 9-year-old Parvin Nakawesi, have been left in her care after their parents were unable to provide for them.
Liru describes the dual realities of raising children in old age. “I protect them. I defend them,” she says. “Old people, we are the ones who hold families together. We are the ones who pray for you. We are the ones who do good. We are the ones who are next to God.” She acknowledges the weight of responsibility but also the value of companionship and continuity.
Many elders face these responsibilities while struggling to sustain themselves.
Literacy is low among older Ugandans; more than 80% of people over 85 cannot read or write. Yet education remains a priority, with seniors often investing whatever resources they have into supporting young learners.
Felista Kemitaare, 78, cares for her 11-year-old granddaughter along a steep path lined with lush hills. Her own food production is insufficient, and she sells part of her harvest to cover school fees.
On a recent morning, ROTOM field nurse Winnie Katwesigye visits to check on her health and wellbeing. Despite aches and limited resources, Kemitaare heads to her garden with a walking stick, tending anemic potatoes with careful, deliberate movements.
Norah Makubuya, a ROTOM project manager, emphasizes the challenges of older adults assuming parental responsibilities again. “The burden of adult children often becomes their parents’ burden,” she says, underscoring how aging, poverty, and family structures are intertwined.
As Uganda and other sub-Saharan nations confront a rapidly growing elderly population, the stakes are high.
(With AP)
