Ageing populations

While Europe and Japan were among the first places to see their population ageing老齡化, the phenomenon is now occurring fastest in low and middle-income nations and WHO says the most dramatic changes are taking place in countries such as Cuba, Iran and Mongolia.

This means that where in the past infections were considered the greatest challenge, now even in the poorest countries the biggest health burdens負擔 for older people come from conditions such as heart disease, stroke中風, cancer, diabetes, dementia癡呆 and sight and hearing loss.

WHO says present heath systems are poorly designed for the chronic慢性病 care needs arising產生 from this pattern of disease. The campaigning organisation HelpAge International welcomed the new focus on the impact of ageing but said the global community was still worryingly slow to act.

HelpAge cited Ghana where it said nearly sixty per cent of older people suffer from high blood pressure often leading導致 to strokes and heart attacks but only five per cent are able to control it through medication.

this text comes from bbc learning english
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2012/04/120405_witn_ageing_population.shtml