Kenya is an East African country which had a projected total population of 53.7 million in 2020, of which approximately 2.2 million (4.2 per cent) are people aged 60 years and older (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2019), however the 2019 census data estimated that older people comprise a more significant proportion of the population (6 per cent of 47.5 million or 2.7 million people). Like elsewhere in the region, the population is experiencing rapid demographic change and the proportion of older people in the population is expected to more than double to 10.3 per cent by 2050.
Kenya provides a good example of a country that is making considerable new policy commitments to addressing ageing, including the recent introduction of a universal pension.
This report provides an overview of population ageing and health trends in Kenya, and assesses the readiness and responsiveness of health, social welfare and long-term care systems to ageing and the needs of older people in the country. It assesses the state of frameworks and structures in place to support healthy ageing and provides a set of recommendations to inform policy development and strategic interventions going forward.
