Bridging the Gap in Social Infrastructure for the Ageing Population in Bangladesh

With a 15% growth in the population over 65 years of age in the last decade, it is more important than ever for the government of Bangladesh to design innovative policies around social infrastructure for the ageing population. The primary emphases of national policies are to improve the status of elderly people in Bangladesh and to prioritise their welfare. Overall, the gaps fall across both “hard” social and “soft” social infrastructure. Moreover, resource constraints, weak management of public initiatives, and unplanned urbanisation, coupled with the pandemic have exacerbated the challenges associated with the ageing population. Focusing on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 9) and analysing the current scenario through the WHO framework of an age-friendly built environment, this chapter uses document analysis to identify areas of current and future community needs and gaps in social infrastructure supply, as well as those which support human well-being with a focus on affordable and equitable access for the ageing population.