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Elderly help to shape ageing policies:
Older people from Latin America took part in Age Demands Action.
Photograph: Tom Weller/HelpAge International.
Delegations of older people from 27 countries who met with government Ministers in October 2007 as part of the Age Demands Action campaign, have received firm commitments of increased pensions, improved healthcare and better access to basic needs, such as food, water and credit.
HelpAge International launched Age Demands Action to raise awareness of the unique problems older people face and their vital role as farmers, leaders, carers, wage earners, educators.
“Older people are resourceful individuals who can still serve their nation,” said Marcellina Denya Loteka, chair of the South Sudan Older People’s Organisation.
Commitment highlights include:
Expanding pension coverage
In Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Zambia, governments agreed to expand coverage of existing social pension schemes. In India, the government agreed to make the old–age pension available to all poor people in the country. Previously, the pension was only available to those considered destitute – the poorest of the poor.
In the Philippines, older people secured government support for the Elderly Poor Pension Act for social pensions which is currently going through the legislative procedure.
Improved access to healthcare and basic needs
In countries, such as Bolivia, India and Sri Lanka, older people can not access benefits or free healthcare without an identity card, and the procedure to get one can often be long and costly. The government in India agreed to give an additional one million older men and women identity cards.
In Bangladesh, the joint chief of health agreed to improve older people’s access to primary healthcare by providing dedicated weekly clinics. Also, the Age Demands Action delegation were promised by a Government representative that they will work towards increasing the Old Age Allowance to 500 taka [US$7].
Pictured right: Older people in Bangladesh were asking for an increase in the Old Age Allowance. Photo: The Resource Intergration.
Access to food and water is an issue for many poor older people. In Ethiopia, for example, the Minister for Water agreed to specifically include them in programmes to provide water to the most vulnerable in rural and urban areas.
In Zambia, the government agreed to expand a food ration scheme for older people and to include them in a wider food security programme to support agricultural activities. In Bangladesh, the government offered credit to older people’s associations.
Implementing national policies on ageing
In Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan and Uganda governments agreed to progress national policies on ageing. The Vietnamese government revised the draft Law of the Elderly to give older people access to existing micro–credit and health insurance schemes.
In Uganda, Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi re–affirmed the government’s commitment to implement a national policy to address issues facing older people. Ministers in Kyrgyzstan agreed to provide support to older people by adopting a law on older citizens.
Shaping the future
The delegations, reporting on the meetings they held with ministers, said the events signalled a change in how older people’s issues will be viewed in the future. Such meetings look set to become an annual event in the political calendar on 1 October, UN International Day of Older Persons.
Many delegates felt a sense of leadership and empowerment as they realised they could achieve these great results.
“This is the first time that older people have been involved in a global campaign to enact change and make their governments listen and respond to their needs,” says Richard Blewitt, HelpAge International’s chief executive officer.
“The results have been amazing and show that older people have an important contribution to make to society and to shaping ageing policies and practices for future generations, because Age Demands Action.”
Infolink: HelpAge International, PO Box 32832, London N1 9ZN. Telephone: 020 7278 7778. Website: www.helpage.org.
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