the elder story: ground reality during covid 19

A HelpAge India report (2020)

The Elder Story: Ground Reality during Covid 19

Impact & Challenges

BACKGROUND

COVID 19 cases were first reported in India in January 2020, by March a nationwidelockdown was imposed. WHO declared it as a pandemic. According to Governmentof India, 1,45,779 active cases 1,54,329 cured/discharged, 8,884 deaths till 13thJune 2020.

Senior citizens are amongst the most vulnerable facing higher risk of infection andsuccumbing to COVID 19. This is due to decreased immunity and associated co-morbidities, and further amplified by challenges due to their socio-economicprofile.

SOME FACTS:

• Elders constituted 8.6% of India’s population (104 million) in 2011. (Source:Census 2011)

• Currently, there are an estimated 160 million elders in India, that isapproximately 12% of the population. (Source: MSJE)

• 90% of India’s elders belong to the unorganized sector.

• 52% of elders in rural India live below the poverty line. (Source: SECC Data)


AIM OF SURVEY

• Most elderly in India work to make ends meet, as there is no universal social securitysystem. Most of them are in the unskilled, casual workers category mostly from theunorganized sector, who earn a meagre daily wage to survive. These people were hithard by the lockdown for more than 2 months. Many of them did not have enoughsavings to sail them through and most of them were not credit worthy. The COVID 19lockdown situation further impacted the economic condition of these vulnerableelders. Besides health and income, the other related aspects of lives of older personslikely to get impacted are social inclusion and mental wellbeing.

• To know how COVID 19 impacted the lives of older persons in India, a dip stick surveywas undertaken by HelpAge India in June 2020.

• The survey covered 17 states and 4 UTs. It was designed to assess the aspects of lifethat were impacted by COVD 19 including, health care, livelihood, access to goodsand services and assistance provided by various stakeholders.


BASIC PARAMETERS

• Sample Size: 5099 Elder respondents Urban: 2639

Rural: 2460

• Age Groups: 60 - 69 years – Young Old

70 – 79 years – Old Old

80 and above – Oldest Old

• Gender:57% Males respondents

43% Female respondents


SURVEY SPREAD

No. STATES & UTs

1. Andhra Pradesh

2. Bihar

3 Chhattisgarh

4. Delhi

5. Goa

6. Gujarat

7. Himachal Pradesh

8. Jammu and Kashmir

9. Karnataka

10. Kerala

11. Madhya Pradesh

12. Maharashtra

13. Odisha

14. Puducherry

15. Punjab

16. Rajasthan

17. Tamil Nadu

18. Telangana

19. Uttar Pradesh

20. Uttarakhand

21. West Bengal

MAIN FINDINGSHighlights

AWARENESS LEVELSInformation on Signs and Symptoms of Covid-19

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

Yes No

4656 (91.3%)

443 (8.7%)

NATIONAL TOTAL


LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD AMONGST ELDERLYDURING THE LOCKDOWN

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Yes No

3294 (65%)

1805 (35%)

NATIONAL TOTAL


0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Rural Urban

1969 (75%)

1325 (54%)

670 (25%)

1135 (46%)

Yes No

AREA WISE : Rural vs Urban


LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD AMONGST ELDERLY DURING THE LOCKDOWN

NOTE:• Of the total Rural

Sample Size – 75%Elders stated thatthey suffered a ‘Lossin their Livelihood’during thelockdown.

• Of the total UrbanSample Size – 54%Elders stated thatthey suffered a ‘Lossin their Livelihood’during thelockdown.

LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD OF THE BREADWINNER IN THE FAMILY DURING THE LOCKDOWN

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Yes No

3631 (71%)

1468 (29%)

NATIONAL TOTAL


LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD OF THE BREADWINNER IN THE FAMILY DURING THE LOCKDOWN

AREA WISE: Rural vs Urban

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Rural Urban

2200 (83%)

1431 (58%)

439 (17%)

1029 (42%)

Yes No


NOTE:• Of the total Rural Sample

Size – 83% Elders statedthat there was a ‘Loss intheir Livelihood of theBreadwinner in theirfamily’ during thelockdown.

• Of the total UrbanSample Size – 58% Eldersstated that there was a‘Loss in their Livelihoodof the Breadwinner intheir family’ during thelockdown.

DIFFICULTY IN ACCESSING GOODS & SERVICES DURING THE LOCKDOWN

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

Yes No

3973 (78%)

1126 (22%)

NATIONAL TOTAL


NOTE:• The Top 3 Goods &

Services elders haddifficulty in accessingduring the Lockdownwere:

1. Access to Food/ Groceries / Medicines.

2. Domestic Help/ Household Maid.

3. Access to Banking / ATM services.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

25002215 (84%)

1758 (71%)

424 (16%)

702 (29%)

Rural Urban

Yes No

DIFFICULTY IN ACCESSING GOODS & SERVICES DURING THE LOCKDOWNAREA WISE: Rural vs Urban



Sample Size – 84%Elders stated thatthey faced ‘Difficultyin Accessing EssentialGoods & Servicesduring the Lockdown’.

• Of the total UrbanSample Size – 71%Elders stated thatthey faced ‘Difficultyin Accessing EssentialGoods & Servicesduring the Lockdown’.

ELDERS FEELING CONFINED AT HOME & SOCIALLY ISOLATEDDURING THE LOCKDOWN

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Yes No

3087 (61%)

2012 (39%)

NATIONAL TOTAL


0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Rural Urban

1545 (59%) 1542 (63%)

1094 (41%)

918 (37%)

Yes No

ELDERS FEELING CONFINED AT HOME & SOCIALLY ISOLATEDDURING THE LOCKDOWN




Sample Size – 59%Elders stated thatthey felt ‘Confinedat home & SociallyIsolated during theLockdown’.

• Of the total UrbanSample Size – 63%Elders stated thatthey felt ‘Confinedat home & SociallyIsolated during theLockdown’.

ELDER HEALTH: SUFFERING FROM CHRONIC DISEASES

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Yes No

3181 (62%)

1918 (38%)

NATIONAL TOTAL

ELDER HEALTH: SUFFERING FROM CHRONIC DISEASES


0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

Rural Urban

1679 (64%)

1502 (61%)

960 (36%) 958 (39%)

Yes No



Sample Size – 64% Elders ‘Suffering from Chronic diseases’ such as Arthritis, Hypertension, Cancer, Diabetes, Asthma etc.

• Of the total Urban Sample Size – 61% Elders were ‘Suffering from Chronic diseases’ such as Arthritis, Hypertension, Cancer, Diabetes, Asthma etc.

ELDER HEALTH: WORSENING OF CHRONIC CONDITION DURING THE LOCKDOWN

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

Yes No

1302 (42%)

1784 (58%)


NATIONAL TOTAL

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Rural Urban

831 (51%)

471 (33%)

814 (49%)

970 (67%)

Yes No


ELDER HEALTH: WORSENING OF CHRONIC CONDITION DURING THE LOCKDOWN


Sample Size – 51% Elders stated that their chronic condition ‘Worsened during the lockdown’.

• Of the total Urban Sample Size – 33% Elders stated that their chronic condition ‘Worsened during the lockdown’.

MAJOR FEARS OF ELDERLY DURING THE LOCKDOWN

1916 (38%)1749 (34%)

447 (9%)

626 (12%)

360 (7%)

NATIONAL TOTAL

NOTE:The findings here arebased on a clusterapproach of the top 4common responses.

MAJOR SUGGESTIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT BY THE ELDERLY

FinancialHelp,

Medicinesand Pension

HealthCheckups,

Screening forCOVID 19

Masks,Sanitizers for

everyone

Ration,Medicines,

Pension

SocialPension,

door-to-doorDelivery of

Goods

Others

1176 (23%)

559 (11%)

194 (4%)

681 (13%)

1510 (30%)

979 (19%)

NATIONAL TOTAL

NOTE:• The findings here are based on a cluster approach of the top 5 common responses.• It is interesting to note, that more than 60% elder respondents mentioned Pension as their top need

while 50% wanted Medicines & Healthcare needs to be addressed.

THANK YOU!

HelpAge India works for the cause & care of

disadvantaged older persons to improve their

quality of life

the elder story: ground reality during covid 19

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