Abstract:
The need to augment social protection arrangements to safeguard the
wellbeing of older people now extends to societies beyond the borders of the
welfare states of Europe. However, the emphasis seems to be on formal
systems of support, with little attention paid to the extent to which the
traditional family system and community structures could be enhanced to
support this process. This study examines the relevance of the traditional
family and community structures in providing social protection for older
people using both quantitative and qualitative data. It is clear that the
traditional family and community-based support arrangements remain a
useful and reliable option for care and support of older people even if they are
inadequate in some respects. We suggest that the traditional family system
and community structures be strengthened through collaborative efforts of
government and civil society for optimum social protection delivery for older
people