For one village for rural Nigeria, one 68-year-old woman dey wake before morning to clear her small plot of cassava.

She no get pension—she no ever work for formal sector— and her pikin dem don tay migrate go Lagos, the commercial capital, to find work.

For night time her body joints dey pain from many years wey she don dey do manual work, but she no fit afford to see doctor.

For the other side of Africa, for Kenya, one government official talk about one moment wey involve him own son. When he tell the young man say im grandmother sick, the boy just shrug and talk 'Mwambie nimesema pole'—that one mean 'tell her say I don talk sorry'.

These two scenes wey far apart show same thing: to live long no mean say life go dey healthy. As world don reach half way for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) show say some progress don happen, but still get big gaps wey fit make millions of older people remain behind.

The numbers serious. Global population wey 60 years and pass don pass 1 billion for 2020 and dem project say e go reach 2.1 billion by 2050, and the fastest growth na for low- and middle-income countries.

Between 2000 and 2023, gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at age 60 even widen.

Covid-19 effect

Plus, dem estimate say about 71% of the extra deaths worldwide from COVID-19 between 2020 and 2023 happen for people age 60 and above.

According to Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the country record at least 3,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, with the highest fatality rates among people aged 60 and above because of underlying conditions, even though younger people get more cases.

Kenya record about 5,600 deaths, with older adults aged 50 and above make up most of the severe illness and death, according to the Ministry of Health.

The WHO midpoint report wey the UN Secretary-General send go the 81st session of the General Assembly dey show real gains.

More countries pass before don get laws wey ban discrimination because of age—e don rise from 44.5% in 2018 to 57.7% today.

More than half of countries get national long-term care policies, programmes to build age-friendly environments, and full health and social assessments for older people.

“Longer lives na one of human being big achievements, but we no fit dey congratulate ourselves while millions dey left without health and support,” talk Dr Pascale Allotey, Director for WHO Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing.

“The first half of the decade don show wetin possible. The second half suppose be about scaling up and financing the progress so that the needs and rights of older persons fit met.”

‘Healthy ageing dey work’

New WHO guidance on long-term care and Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) dey help make system changes as countries dey add these services inside national universal health care benefit packages.

“This report dey show the Decade of Healthy Ageing dey work,” talk Dr Ritu Sadana, Head of the WHO Secretariat for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing.

“Plenty countries dey make laws against ageism, dey provide integrated care, dey strengthen long-term care systems, and dey create age-friendly environments more than ever, for all regions and income levels. But progress no balanced and for one area e don even go backwards. Fewer countries report active multi-stakeholder forums on ageing, down from 53.1% in 2020 to 43.3% today. The second half of this decade must turn commitments into results for every country.”

If progress get ceiling, na money be the problem. More than one-third of the countries wey report (33.8%) no get enough or dem no get any dedicated money to develop long-term care, and similar shortfalls dey for the decade’s other priority areas.

Less than half of countries (45.4%) get laws wey provide access to assistive devices—like hearing aids, spectacles, rollators—wey important to keep independence and dignity. And only 22.7% of countries fit track older people health over time, the biggest gap among the decade’s core indicators.

For the Nigerian woman wey still dey farm cassava into her late sixties, these things no be theory. Nigeria pension system cover only about 3% of older adults, and around 70% of older Nigerians be poor or economically vulnerable.

Many older people still dey do hard physical work well into old age because dem no fit afford to stop. The traditional family support system dey under pressure as younger people dey migrate to cities or go abroad.

Longer lives

Economic reason for to invest dey clear.

“To invest for healthy ageing no be only expense; na one of the highest-return investments wey government fit make,” talk Fiona Stewart, Global Lead for Ageing and Pensions at the World Bank Group.

“Countries wey invest early for integrated and long-term care go get savings wey pass the initial cost many times. The evidence for this report dey make the economic case; wetin now needed na predictable financing for each country to act, together with support for older entrepreneurs.”

The report base on direct experience of older people, including multilingual global survey by the International Federation on Ageing wey reach more than 1,000 older people across 58 countries.

Their testimony match wetin researchers see for Sub-Saharan Africa: traditional family care systems dey come apart because of urbanisation, economic wahala, and migration, leaving older people more isolated and without reliable support.

But the same communities dey try new things. For Kibera settlement for Kenya, intergenerational self-help groups dey bring young and old people together to push for better services, as dem sabi say today young people be 'older people in waiting'.

For Narok, Maasai elders dey run sustainable agricultural projects wey dey support food security and still keep older people busy and connected.

As the Decade of Healthy Ageing enter the second half, WHO and UN partners dey call on Member States to speed up implementation, make data systems stronger, and find the financing needed so the benefits of longer lives reach older people everywhere.

For the Kenyan official wey his son just shrug at the grandmother sickness, the matter personal. But the opportunity still personal too.

“We no fit dey congratulate ourselves,” Dr Allotey warn, “while millions dey left without health and support.”

The next five years go decide whether that warning go turn to action—or go just become epitaph.