Peru: Confronting an Aging Society

January 12, 2015 | Pulitzer Center

Michelle Ferng

Peru, mirroring global demographic patterns, is in the midst of rapid population aging. The proportion of older adults over the age of 60 is projected to more than double from 9.4 percent today to over 22 percent of the population by 2050. From policymakers to civil society, many are questioning whether or not the country is ready to face the demographic transition. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Currently there are about 2.9 million older adults over the age of 60 in Peru, according to the Peru National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI). The year 2014 marked a symbolic turning point: For the first time in the country's history, older adults over 60 outnumbered children under-five. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

The country had one of the fastest growing economies of Latin America in the past decade, yet experts note that the rapid growth has not translated into social development and protection, particularly for vulnerable low-income populations, often concentrated in hilltop shantytowns known as "pueblos jovenes" (young towns) surrounding major cities. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

A son of a lower-class family, Eduardo Niño Herrera, 81, left home at a young age to shine shoes and sell papers. For many years he drove a taxi, but never made enough to escape poverty. Today, Eduardo lives alone in a single room in Lima, lent to him by an old schoolmate he ran into on the street. He spends most of his time guarding vehicles on the street for spare change in order to survive. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Given his mounting health problems, Eduardo doesn’t know how much longer he will be able to work. “I have other extended family, but they see me like a microbe, like a dog on the street. That’s the truth,” he says, between fits of coughing. “That’s how life has been. It has been filled with suffering.” Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

In an attempt to address poverty in old age, the Peruvian government introduced in 2011 the Pension 65 program—a non-contributory social pension that transfers 250 Peruvian soles (approximately USD 85 or 7.6 percent of average income in Peru) every two months to older adults in extreme poverty. But despite its success and planned expansion, the program has not reached many of the most vulnerable, due in part to means testing requirements and enrollment problems. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Maria Concepción Serpa, 73, supports three dependent adult children by recycling trash. She is ineligible for Pension 65 because technically she has a house in her name, even though the family lives in extreme poverty. Maria still owes the government more than 4,000 soles (about $1,300) of property taxes over the past 10 years, which she is hoping to have cancelled in full this year. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Along with income security, one of the biggest challenges of aging is the growing burden of disease and disability. Eighty percent of older Peruvian women and 68 percent of older Peruvian men experience chronic illness, yet one in every four older adults is uninsured. In downtown Lima, a man walks by an elderly rural-urban migrant begging for spare change to cover his medical bills. "I ask for your help as human beings—I don't even have anything to eat—please," his message on the ground reads. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Quality long-term care options remain inaccessible to the majority of the population, while health services continue to orient toward the needs of the young. According to the Ministry of Health, there are currently 165 geriatricians for a national population of nearly 300,000 older adults. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

As life expectancies increase, older adults now face a double burden of caring not only for themselves, but also for the oldest-old (aged 80 and above). Maria Chamarro Moncada (left), 69, steals a glance at the television as she accompanies her aunt, Carmen Leticia Moncada Palacios, 90, in their shared bedroom in downtown Lima. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Some experts stress the need to take a life course approach—promoting education and prevention earlier in life, so that people reach old age in the best condition possible. Luz Elena Avanto Urvina, 76, holds a portrait of her younger self in her home in Lima. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Nevertheless, the pressures of care-taking for the elderly and changing social norms have led some families to abandon older adults -- on the streets, in public institutions, as well as in private homes. In the Victor Larco Herrera Hospital (pictured), a public mental institution in Lima, dozens of older adults have been abandoned by their families for more than 20 years, with relatives rejecting the return of the patients. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Policymakers and civil society representatives review a 2006 law on older adults at the Forum on Challenges of Public Policy for Healthy Aging in Lima. The law outlines the basic rights of older adults. It also includes the responsibility of the state and families to secure their welfare. Despite the legal framework, experts say that effective mechanisms have not yet been established for the vision to become a reality. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

An older woman reflects on her experiences during an older adult association meeting in a low-income neighborhood in Lima. In front of her, a community organizer explains the rights of older adults and encourages the group to make a showing at Congress on the National Day of Older Persons. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Ultimately, at the heart of the issue is how society views old age and the value of older adults. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Peru is among the many countries undergoing rapid aging, with the proportion of the population over the age of 60 projected to rise from 9.2 percent in 2014 to 22.7 percent in 2050. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Student Fellow Michelle Ferng travels to Peru to explore the plight of older adults and challenges of aging in modern society.