A. Elderly Situation in Indonesia
According to the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number. 13 of 1998 concerning Elderly Welfare, the term elderly (hereinafter referred to as elderly) is a person who has reached the age of 60 (sixty) years and above. Meanwhile, the WHO divides the elderly according to the age level of the Elderly:
(1) Middle age (between 45-59 years),
(2) old age (between 60-70 years),
(3) Old age (between 75-90 years old) and
(4) Very old age (above 90 years old).
The growth of elderly people in Indonesia is estimated to be faster than other countries. This is marked by the increasing number and proportion of elderly population significantly. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics Data, in 1970 the elderly population of 5.3 million people (4.48% of the total population), in 1990 increased to 12.7 million (6.29%), in 2010 to 23 million 10%). It is estimated that the elderly population in this country will reach 28.8 million (11.34%) by 2020, with the life expectancy of women is 78 years old and 72 years old for men. Although the trend in studying elderly people is not popular yet in Indonesia, the need of studying older persons has increased for the past 10 years, in line with the increasing proportion of elderly population. National Development Agency estimates that there will be 80 million of elderly people in Indonesia with age composition of 60-69 years (35.8 million), 70-79 years (21.4 million) and 80+ years (11.8 million) by 2050.
B. Elderly and the Challenges it faced
Aging is a natural process whereby a person experiences a physical, mental and social setback that interacts with one another as a result of age. The decline of the above conditions for someone entering the elderly can be seen from several aspects, including:
(1) Changes that appear on the appearance of the face, hands and skin,
(2) Changes that occur in the inside of the body such as the nervous system, brain, spleen and liver,
(3) Changes in the function of the senses: sight, hearing, smell and taste,
(4) Motor decline, among others, reduced strength, speed and learning new skills. These changes will gradually lead to a decline in physical and psychological health conditions, which will further affect the economic and social activities of the elderly.
Psychically, the elderly face a sense of loneliness in the midst of society that began to feel unfriendly and individualistic. The condition will be worse if elderly also facing difficult economic condition, unfavorable social condition, dirty / slum area and uncomfortable environment condition, making it easier for elderly to feel stress, depression, and schizophrenia.
Despite as physically the elderly have decreased, in fact compared to other age groups, the elderly have advantages in terms of expertise, experience, network, wisdom and time that can be developed and empowered so that it remains an asset for families and communities in the economic and social fields. Efforts to empower the elderly need to be done so that they can play a role in development by taking into account the function, wisdom, knowledge, skills, experience, age and physical condition as well as the maintenance of social welfare level of the elderly. The existence of a conducive physical, infrastucture, social, economic and environmental environment will support the creation of healthy, active elderly in social and economic fields and prosperous and happy.
C. Conclusion.
The phenomenon of elderly increase is certainly worth anticipating, because it will bring widespread implications in family, community and country life. Related to the above, making the elderly residents remain healthy, tough and productive would require a lot of preparation and support from all parties. The issue of nutritional quality, sanitation and healthy environmental support is then a matter of priority that must be realized, as well as the preparation of the quality of the productive age population, the elderly group in Indonesia needs to get serious attention from all parties, especially the government through various policies and programs addressed to the elderly, so that they can play a role in national development and not be a burden to the community.