Consequences of Rural-Urban Migration on Support for the Elderly in Zambia

This research paper examines some basic assumptions about the role of the extended family in providing support to the elderly in Zambia. It is argued that the complexities of daily life, national economic crises, regional drought cycles, and changing ideas about family and obligations are important factors that affect family support of the elderly. Data were obtained from focus groups among the elderly in Western province and among old and young adults in Lusaka. Ethnographic research was conducted among the Gwembe Tonga in the Southern province. Both populations living in urban areas did not provide substantial and regular support for their elderly parents living in rural areas. Parents and children referred to the economic crises in Zambia as the cause for nonsupport. Urban migrants relinquished their ties to home villages. Remittances were symbolic. Labor migration has a long history in Zambia. Labor migration was encouraged under colonialism and perpetuated after independence. Findings from the 1992 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey indicate that population over 50 years old is concentrated in rural areas. Urban populations support a largely working-age population. Youth remain in the same proportions to total population in urban and rural areas. Over 75% of persons over 55 years old in urban areas and only 55% in rural areas lived with 1 of their children. The elderly in rural areas were more likely to live with others of their own generation than in 3-generation households. The elderly who lived alone were less likely to have 1 or more amenities (a finished floor, radio, or latrine). Focus group participants indicated that urban migrants desired to go back to their rural villages but rarely did so in retirement. Participants agreed that the elderly were not as well cared for