Effects of Rural-Urban Migration on the Care of the Of the Elderly Left-Behind in the Akuse Community

Abstract

Rural-urban migration is a phenomenon which impacts populations around the world in diverse ways. Research on the impact of rural-urban migration on the migrant, the rural areas and urban centres have been conducted, however little is known about how rural-urban migration affects the care of the elderly who are left behind. . This study set out to investigate the effects of rural-urban migration on the care of the elderly left behind in Akuse. Using a mixed methods approach comprising of 100 questionnaires and 7 in-depth interviews, the study focused on the cost implications of care when the young adult has migrated, the challenges faced as well as the coping strategies employed by the elderly left behind. The study found that most of the respondents had experienced an improvement in their living conditions after the migration of their adult children. This improvement was however limited as for many of the respondents, the remittances received often only covered the cost of food, leaving the burden of financing other necessities including clothing, medication and utilities on the respondents. The study recommends that the government, through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection extend its social intervention programmes such as LEAP to include the elderly in Akuse. In addition, it is recommended that the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality create programs to provide vocational training such as sewing, hair dressing and fishing in order to create jobs within the district. This would in turn reduce the incidence of rural-urban migration and allow the youth to effectively care for the elderly in the community.