Abstract
Population ageing has become a major global demographic shift but perhaps less noticeable in the Global South. Zimbabwe, like many African countries, is experiencing and will continue to witness an increase in older age, hence questioning its readiness to handle such change. Ageing in Zimbabwe is currently occurring in the context of increasing poverty, political unrest, changing family structures, and weakening infrastructures. Despite this, Zimbabwe is committed to promoting change and betterment for its citizens through adherence to international agendas and national development strategies. However, the first step towards the realisation of an inclusive urban environment begins with a fair representation of the various actors and social groups. This review paper is aimed at examining the representation of Zimbabwe’s older people, a subject that has rarely been the focus of critical analysis, concentrating on the political discourse in urban development programmes. A sample of 45 international and national policy documents published post-2002, was carefully selected and inspected to determine the level of presence of older people using discourse analysis. The findings reveal that in the context of the efforts made towards a Zimbabwe that is inclusive of all citizens, the idea of older persons as subjects of rights and active participants has yet to truly gain sufficient currency. There is a dominance of a one-dimensional perspective across the majority of the publications, with older people constructed as “dependent”, “vulnerable” and “passive”, overseeing vital contributions to society. A realistic and more empowering representation of this social group, showing them as active caregivers rather than passive recipients is therefore a necessity if Zimbabwe is to fulfil its vision of inclusivity.
Highlights
Published: 21 January 2021Previous studies concerning the urban physical environment and occupants’ health have provided credible evidence and a range of interventions that can lead to better living conditions contributing to residents’ well-being
A similar trend on the paucity of mention of older persons was found across all the documents produced for the international agenda (Figure 5) and in over half of the documents written by Non-Governmental Organisations apart from those written to target certain ageing issues (Figure 6, documents no. 32, 34, 35, 38, 41 and 45)
This study aimed to contribute an understanding of urban ageing in Zimbabwe by analysing the socio-political discourse
Summary
Published: 21 January 2021Previous studies concerning the urban physical environment and occupants’ health have provided credible evidence and a range of interventions that can lead to better living conditions contributing to residents’ well-being. Among the various age groups, are often the most vulnerable to the influence of the urban characteristics of their living environment. Research into ageing and the implications of the changing demographics in Global South countries is fairly recent It has only been in the past 20 years that an expanding, though limited, body of literature on older people in urban Africa, has emerged covering a range of topics across diverse regions [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Part of the current interest in Africa’s ageing population was initially triggered by the increasing volume of Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) programmes and the advocacy for the well-being of older people living in urban areas led by the World Health Organisation’s
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