The Trend of Age Distribution in WHO’s EMRO countries during the Last Three Decades (1980-2010) and its Future Health Policy Requirements

Introduction: Investigation trend of age distribution can be helpful for policymakers to predict the potential challenges of health care systems in order to improve responsibilities to future health needs. Therefore the aim of the present study was to investigate the trend of age distribution in the EMRO region in order to determine future health policy requirements. Methods: This study was conducted in 2013 using the general population data of 23 EMR (Eastern Mediterranean Region) countries during the last three decades (1981-1990, 1991-2000 and 2001-2010). Data included 3 main age groups: percentage of 0-14 year olds, 15-64 year olds and 65 and above year old population from the total population. The Descriptive statistics were used to study the growth of each age group by using the Excell2007 Software. Results: The percentage of children in all EMRO countries (exempt Afghanistan and Somalia) have considerably decreased during the last three decades. On the other hand, in most (17 from 23) EMRO countries, the percentage of the elderly have considerably increased during the last three decades. Conclusion: The region is going to be an old and elderly population therefore health care systems should be ready to response to this age groups’ health needs. Future studies needs to clarify the old ages health needs such as diet, sport, health facilities and education.