How can healthcare for older people in sub-Saharan Africa be improved?

In Africa, the demographic transitions in progress are accompanied by a predicted aging of the population. This phenomenon cannot be ignored in future political decisions. Nations south of the Sahara are excluded from the improvement in life expectancy observed everywhere else in the world – including in North Africa – and hitherto, attention has been focused on the reproductive health of mothers and children, as well as on certain specific pathologies (such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis). Little is known about the health of older people in particular – it could even be said to be ignored. A review of the literature has enabled us to take stock of existing health statistics and show that the little that is known is essentially based on a few surveys carried out mainly in English-speaking countries.