At the Ananya Foundation, an NGO for elderly in India, we are actively working for the welfare of the disadvantaged elderly people in India. In rural areas, several elderly are left alone after their children migrate to the cities in search of better job opportunities. Older adults are already struggling with underlying conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or respiratory issues — comorbidities that we now understand. After the arrival of COVID-19 in India last year, the elderly ones have started developing life-threatening complications, and some of them have even lost their lives throughout the pandemic till now. Most importantly, a likely weaker immune system makes it too difficult for older adults to fight off infection. Consequently, the impact on older adults is observed as notable.

The elderly ones ask for nothing but to live the rest of their life in peace. Helping underprivileged old people and bringing a positive transformation in their standard of living is the dire need of the hour as we know that old age folks constitute a significant portion of India’s demography, most of them are confronting different challenges, and their conditions are lamentable. That’s why it’s not wrong to say that it has become the major social issues in our country in the current scenario.