The unrelenting ageing of the population will pose severe economic and social challenges for Australia where the number of very old people (85 years and over) is expected to more than quadruple from around 400,000 in 2010 to 1.8 million by 2050.
The Muslim community is particularly vulnerable to this emerging demographic trend. It is not well endowed with residential aged care facilities (RACs) like the more established communities.
Compounding the situation are economic and familial constraints which make caring for older people at home much harder, leaving them to institutionalised care.
Caring for the elderly in the Southwest Sydney region was the major focus of a community forum organised by Auwal Care Inc on Sunday 4 August 2024 at the Carnes Hill Function Centre in Liverpool, attended by approximately 25 opinion leaders.
“I have come across many old people languishing in facilities, devoid of an Islamic environment, feeling lonely and socially isolated, struggling to obtain halal meals. Surely, they deserve to spend their last days on this this earth with dignity in the company of like-minded people,” said Imam Mohammed Amien Ahmad, a chaplain and social educator.
“Although Islam enjoins younger members of the family to look after the elderly, this is not always possible for various reasons. Care is unavoidably outsourced to an institution,” says Shaykh Amien. “Muslim-managed RACs provide a useful safety net and arguably higher quality of care in these circumstances as it also does for those vulnerable people who may be abused by family care givers.”
Shabana Jasmin Buksh, a registered nurse, observed that, “Advances in medical science enables people to live longer but this comes with increased frailties and comorbidities; care for older people at home is thus becoming increasingly complicated.”
The forum heard that the burden of care has traditionally fallen heavily on the female members of the family, a fact that is not sufficiently recognised by society. This burden is only going to increase with the ageing of the population, and it behoves us to put in place support mechanisms to help our care givers, such as temporary respite facilities.
Auwal’s research indicates that demand for seniors independent living units (apartments and villas) is likely to increase in future with the gentrification of Islamic community and downsizing of accommodation. But the more immediate priority is RAC.
The +70 years cohort in the Southwest Sydney region according to Auwal Care’s modelling is expected to exceed 16,000 by 2041. “Auwal Care intends to collaborate with other organisations and community networks to ensure that older Muslims can access quality in-home care and RAC that satisfy their spiritual and cultural needs,” says Haji Imam Ali, Chairman of the not-for-profit charity, Auwal Care Inc.
Comments