ABSTRACT
This chapter reflects on contemporary rural ageing in South Africa, historically situated within the postcolonial and post-Apartheid eras. It contextualizes the contemporary South African reality broadly, driven by five interrelated trends, namely poverty exacerbated by rural-urban migration and HIV/AIDS; the increase in non-communicable diseases (NCD) and changing family dynamics. Most prominently, entrenched poverty characterises sub-Saharan Africa. Prevailing NCDs are high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis, all of which require life-long management. This places a strain on ageing-related resources and the availability of good formal long-term care. Three broad, interrelated themes are identified in the analysis: structural exclusion; intergenerational dynamics; and precarity. Ageing in rural South Africa consists of a series of cyclical, nonlinear iterations of living with contradictions. The stark contemporary reality of rural stagnation, strained intergenerational relations and age-unfriendly resource-vulnerable settings leave many older persons neglected and at risk but also illustrates their resilience against the odds.
