Ageing in Sub-Saharan Africa

"...a thoughtful and insightful contribution, adding to or supporting our discussions on Western care-giving... an invaluable book on Africa's older population, a thought-provoking discussion on the practices of care – familial, informal and formal – in Africa and an interesting discussion on the spaces of care" Ageing and Society, Volume 39, Issue 4

"This is a valuable, timely and thought-provoking collection on spaces and practices of care in Africa. The challenges of political economic change and the variations in actual situations are beautifully documented." Susan Reynolds Whyte, University of Copenhagen

"This book provides an opportunity for one of the most misrepresented entities to be heard - Africa's older population, a vulnerable group with unique needs." Sanet du Toit, University of Sydney, Australia

Dr Jaco Hoffman is Associate Professor at the Optentia Research Focus Area at North-West University (Vaal Triangle Campus), South Africa where he leads a programme on Ageing and Generational Dynamics in Africa. He is also James Martin Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, University of Oxford, UK from where he coordinates the African Research Network on Ageing (AFRAN). This network aims to bring together African and international institutions and individuals from academia, policy and practice to develop and expand African research and training capacity on ageing.

Dr Katrien Pype is Assistant Professor at the Institute for Anthropological Research in Africa, University of Leuven, and Fellow of the Department of African Studies & Anthropology at the University of Birmingham, UK. Her research focuses on how people, elderly included, make sense of communication technologies in their daily lives and how it impacts urban lifeworlds.

Introduction: spaces and practices of care for older persons in Sub-Saharan Africa ~ Jaco Hoffman and Katrien Pype;

Will families in Ghana continue to care for older people? Logic and contradiction in policy ~ Sjaak van der Geest;

Caring for people “without” value: movement, reciprocity and respect in Kinshasa’s retirement homes ~ Katrien Pype;

Older persons providing care for older persons in Tanzania: Against conventions – but accepted ~ Peter van Eeuwijk;

Place matters. The home as a key site of old-age care in coastal Tanzania ~ Brigit Obrist;

Care and identity in rural Malawi ~ Emily Freeman;

Making sense of neglect in northwest Tanzania ~ Josien de Klerk;

Negotiating care for older persons in South Africa: between the ideal and the pragmatics ~ Jaco Hoffman;

Afterword: Discourses of care for older persons in Sub-Saharan Africa – towards Conceptual Development ~ Andries Baart.