Buenos Aires, December 4 (NA) — In October, an elderly couple needed 1,278,026 pesos to cover their monthly expenses, according to the 'Consumption Basket for Older Adults,' which measures needs in food, housing, services, health, and recreation. The report, which the Argentine News Agency was able to access, detailed that a person over 75 years of age living alone required 704,600 pesos to get through the month. The basket estimates costs based on age, sex, household, and housing conditions. For unemployed older adults, the budget was composed of 480,445 pesos in food; 398,889 pesos in home services such as electricity, gas, and common expenses; 144,134 pesos in health; and 198,891 pesos in personal goods, representing a daily expense of 42,601 pesos.
The daily expense for two older adults was 42,601 pesos.
In parallel, the Drug Price Index (DPI) recorded an average increase of 1.7% in October for a selected basket of frequently used drugs. The highest increases were verified in psychotropic drugs (2.4%), antibiotics and antiseptics (2.2%), vitamins (1.9%), and antihistamines and cardiovascular drugs (1.8%). According to the Office of the Ombudsman, which produces these indicators to monitor access to rights in the City, the objective is to generate public evidence, improve transparency, and provide rigorous data to the debate on policies to guarantee decent living conditions for older people.
