South Africa/Africa Changing Age Structure, Poverty, AIDS

Lam and colleagues at the University of Cape Town have generated strong interest in poverty, AIDS, and the welfare of older persons in southern Africa. The goal of aging network activities in Africa is to build on these existing ties to expand interest and capacity in research on the economics and demography of aging, especially in southern Africa.

Although Africa continues to be characterized by relatively high fertility and a young age structure, there are many important research and policy questions relating to the economics and demography of aging in Africa. One important set of issues relates to how the elderly are affected by the burdens of poverty, unemployment, and HIV/AIDS faced by many sub-Saharan African countries. Another set of issues involves the rapid changes in age structure that will take place in Africa in coming decades, with very rapid growth of the elderly population clearly on the horizon in many countries.

A number of Michigan faculty members are involved in research and training collaborations with researchers in South Africa. Collaborating institutions include the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of Natal-Durban, and the Human Sciences Research Council. These collaborations have extended to include the involvement of researchers and institutions in a number of other African countries. South Africa is one of two focal countries in a research and training grant from the Fogarty International Center to the Population Studies Center.

Central to the networking activities in southern Africa is building capacity in the collection and analysis of survey data. Researchers from the Population Studies Center and Survey Research Center have worked with researchers at UCT to field 4 waves of the Cape Area Panel Study. The study covers a wide range of outcomes, including schooling, employment, health, family formation, and intergenerational support systems. The most recent wave includes a sample of persons age 50 and older.

In December 2005, Lam (with Murray Liebbrandt and John Strauss) organized a Conference on Interactions between Poverty and HIV/AIDS, funded by IUSSP, NICHD and NIA-MiCDA. Selected papers are forthcoming in Economic Development and Cultural Change.

In November 2008, Lam (with John Knodel) hosted a conference on The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Older Persons in Africa and Asia to bring together a group of researchers who can provide evidence-based assessments of the impact of the AIDS epidemic on older persons.