To be 70 in Addis and Dar-es-Salaam: ageing in Sub-Saharan Africa
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This multimedia project presents stories on the fight against poverty and social exclusion among elderly people in Tanzania and Ethiopia.
- €12,844 Budget in Euros
- 2016-10-01 Final release date
- 7 Round winner
- 2 Locations
- 4 Durations in months
Africa is projected to age rapidly over the next 35 years, with the percentage of its population aged 60 or over rising from 5 percent in 2015 to 9 percent by 2050. Still, only a few countries on the continent have implemented state pension programs, and elderly people are also rarely on the radar of International Aid donors, thus they are often left behind.
This multimedia project presents stories on the fight against poverty and social exclusion among elderly people in Tanzania and Ethiopia.
Tanzania is currently testing a pilot project for a universal pension for senior citizens on Zanzibar Island. Since April 2016, all citizens above 70, have received 20,000 Tanzania Shillings (around 8 euros) each month. Our investigation follows the money to see if such a state project is effective and can be implemented on the mainland, where only 4 percent are under a formal pension scheme.
Elderly people are facing many challenges beyond economic ones. For example, they are on the front lines of an educational fight against superstitious beliefs inspired by traditional healers. 1,099 elderly people were killed after being accused of witchcraft in the Lake Zone in Tanzania between 2012 and 2014, bringing notoriety to this part of the country.
Ethiopia is one of the most populous African countries (100 million inhabitants) and one of the poorest in the world. Left-behind elderlies have started to organize themselves and help one another. Ms. Assegedech called the “Mother Teresa of Ethiopia” has set up a self sufficient community shelter for more than 90 older people in the region of Dire Dawa. And traditional community structures named "iddirs" more and more often serve as solidarity structures for seniors.
This project comprises a series of articles published both in print and online newspapers, in different languages, and a website with texts, video recordings, and photos.
Photo: Monika Rębała
Project
image gallery
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Project links
Coverage
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Gazeta Wyborcza
- Starsi ludzie lądują w Etiopii na marginesie
- Polish
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Gazeta Wyborcza
- Foto galeria z Ethiopii
- Polish
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The Citizen
- A story on the Zanzibar pension scheme
- English
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CSMonitor
- In Ethiopia, the elderly get new help from an old tool
- English
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Wysokie Obcasy (GW)
- Rehemie nie pozwolono wybrać mężczyzny
- Polish
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El Pais Semanal
- Un matrimonio entre mujeres para salvar la herencia
- Spanish
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Bistandsaktuelt
- Hvorfor eldre kvinner får seg en ung kone
- Norwegian
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Deutsche Welle
- Kurya women marry younger women for male heir
- English
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Deutsche Welle (Global Society)
- Older and younger women marry to bypass the Kurya's patriarchal laws
- English
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Tygodnik Powszechny
- Czrownice z Magu
- Polish
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Deutsche Welle (Global Society)
- Can musicians save Tanzania's traditional tribal music?
- English
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Forbes Africa
- ‘My Family Thought I Had Lost My Mind’
- English
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Bistandsaktuelt
- Tradisjonsrike toner får et nytt liv
- Norwegian
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El Pais
- Vivir con una pensión de ocho euros
- Spanish
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Radio TOK FM
- Wprowadzenie emerytur na Zanzibarze. To pierwszy taki system w Afryce Wschodniej
- Polish
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El Pais
- Las brujas de Magu
- Spanish
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New African Woman
- Same - sex "love"
- English
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El Pais
- Hip hop o litungu, ¿solo puede quedar uno?
- Spanish