Nothing is without cost: The effects of development on the health of older people in South Central Somalia.

Data from research in the Bay Region of south central Somalia are used to examine the effects of development schemes on the health and well-being of older agro-pastoralists. Although the health of older people in the region is improving, the well-being of the elderly may actually be declining. High fertility, reduction in infant mortality, demands of younger males for land and animals, and economic and political goals of the central government are all challenging older males' control of the Region's resources. If this control diminishes, the elderly could become more dependent on the younger generation just when pressure is being placed on this generation to utilize resources for national objectives.