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Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2016;7(1) 

 

Editorial 
 

Greetings to all our honourable Readers and writers of the Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics! This 

issue of 2016 deals with the topic of Ageing and ethical issues related to the caring and respect of 

the elderly. The issue contains the following articles: 

 

Abu Sadat Mohammad Nurunnabi et al discusses the ethical issues, in context of principlism, 

and the means to deal with ethical dilemmas in healthcare of elderly people. The authors point 

out that to provide the highest level of care, the entire care giver team of family members and 

health providers need to form a partnership to provide loving, appropriate care to the elders. This 

will enhance their quality of care, their quality of life and their happiness in the latter days of 

their lives which is coined as ‘healthy ageing’. 

 

Michael O.S. Afolabi in his paper discusses how the ethics of care offers ethically responsive 

ways of addressing the individual and social vulnerabilities of patients associated with 

Alzheimer’s disease. This paper deals with the very sensitive and often painful dilemma faced by 

care givers of AD.  The author examines the ethical issues associated with care of patients with 

Alzheimer’s disease, the relevance of a care ethics (CE) perspective in addressing the 

vulnerabilities, and implications of such an approach. 

 

Tonmoy Biswas in his paper questions whether it is ethical to enroll a person who is not 

physically or mentally fit to make a decision in risky research or interventional trials. Since 

informed consent is a prerequisite to any research the author queries on whether the rights of the 

patient has been transgressed when they are involved in research activities as they are physically 

and mentally not capable to take any rational decision. The author concludes that revision of 

national medical ethics policies regarding this issue is mandatory and that, health professionals 

should be informed about the serious ethical matter. 

 

Antoni Barikdar et al   provides an overview of the situation of the elderly in Bangladesh where 

the number of people over 60 years is increasing rapidly. The authors view this as an emerging 

challenge since the elderly will have special needs and require different care-giving services. 

Since Bangladesh does not have a social welfare system there will be competition for inadequate 

resources specially health and medical services. The authors put forward several 

recommendations including a data base on the number and conditions of the elderly in 

Bangladesh, in order to develop a pragmatic and sustainable support system for the elderly in 

Bangladesh. 

Readers, the health and well being of the elderly is as important as in any other stage of life. The 

UN celebrates the International Day of the Older Persons on 1 October every year and the theme 

for 2015 was Sustainability and Age Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment. Bangladesh 

also observed this day though much more needs to be done in terms of information sharing, 

health services, meeting the basic and special needs of the elderly. 

In this context I would like to recommend our readers to look into the “Ghana Country 

Assessment Report on Ageing and Health” by the World Health Organization 2014. The 

report provides in depth analysis on the following issues: 



Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics 2016;7(1) 

 

1) The health of older people in Ghana (Socio-environmental circumstances, Physical 

health, Physical functioning, Nutrition, physical activity, risk factors and behaviors, 

Vision and hearing, Cognition and mental health). 

2)  Health systems response and policies (Health service delivery, Universal coverage and 

financing, Leadership and governance, Health workforce, Policies and laws, 

Implementation of Ghana’s National Ageing Policy). 

3)  Finally   practical and honest Recommendations have been made. 

This Assessment Report could be used as a guide for countries who are on the verge of facing 

this challenge. It will help them to be prepared and provide the best of care and respect for the 

older persons who had spent all their young days contributing to the development of their family, 

community and country. 

Friends, please continue to submit your excellent thought provoking papers to the Bangladesh 

Journal of Bioethics, which will help towards achieving a rights based society. 

Best Wishes 

Tahera Ahmed 

Editor