Meeting Basic Needs of Elderly Women: Social Protection a Pathway to Healthy Ageing in Punjab Pakistan

Abstract

Although the life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in Pakistan has increased in the recent past years but still it is below the global average including other neighboring South Asian countries. Elderly people in Pakistan are more fragile, vulnerable and dependent on their families especially elderly women because they are financially more dependent. This research is focused on the role of social protection benefits in the form of old age pension in fulfillment of basic needs (food, clothing, healthcare and housing) as one of the components of World Health Organization framework of healthy ageing. This is cross-sectional quantitative study and data were collected from 361 elderly women from the three districts of Southern Punjab Pakistan who were recipient of government pension and having age of 60 years and above. The results of the study revealed that pension income has significantly positive relationship with fulfillment of basic needs as in fulfillment of food and clothing needs R=.499, in fulfillment of healthcare needs R=.573, in fulfillment of housing needs R=.422. The study concludes that pension income plays a significant role in enabling elderly women to meet their basic needs, particularly food and clothing, healthcare, and housing needs, thereby contributing to their healthy ageing and overall well-being. This study advances knowledge on ageing and social protection by providing evidence on the role of old-age pension benefits in fulfilling the basic needs of elderly women in Pakistan and also provides valuable insights for policymakers, gerontologists, and social welfare department to strengthen income security mechanisms for older adults, particularly older women, to promote dignified and independent ageing.

Keywords: Social protection, Healthy ageing, Pension, Basic needs, Pakistan, Elderly Women