Pay attention to problems of the aged – Policy makers told
The political parties have been tasked to address issues affecting the aged in their manifestos.
Addressing a seminar as part of activities to commemorate the United Nations Day for older persons on Friday, Mr Edward Ameyibor, Vice President of Help Age Ghana (HAG), said there was an urgent need for the country to solve ageing problems now, instead of showing subtle discrimination against the aged.
“Ghana must wake up to the issues of ageing,” he said, explaining that older people now constituted about seven per cent of the entire population.
Mr Ameyibor, who chaired the seminar organized for political parties to discuss the plight of older persons and the political party’s manifestos for the 2012 general elections, said sometimes when older people visited the hospital all their complaints were just treated as old age problems, “as if there is a disease called old age”.
“… the earlier the country begins to take steps towards ageing problems the better for all Ghanaians,” he added.
Reverend Father Emmanuel Kojo Addy, a member of the Pensioners and Aged Association in the Greater Accra Region while commending the government for approving the National Ageing policy in 2010, but was not happy that it had remained on the shelves since the approval.
He therefore called for an urgent establishment of the National Ageing Centre as a first step to the implementation.
Madam Cecilia Osei, Ashanti Regional Representative of the Association, said the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, intended to support the poor majority of whom were the aged, was currently not reaching the expected beneficiaries.
“For 10 months, beneficiaries have not received the monies,” she said and urged the government to reach out to older persons.
Madam Agnes Broni, a representative from the Volta Region, also suggested that government incorporated geriatric medicines in the health system as well as the drug list of the National Health Insurance Scheme.
She also called for a downward review of the age of exemption from contribution to the Scheme from age 70 to age 65 or lower.
Out of the 10 political party’s invited only three had their representative at the forum.
Mr Ward Brew, Leader of the Democratic Peoples’ Party (DPP) noted that society was unappreciative of aged problems and suggested that aged persons all over the country network with institutions such as the Trade Unions to get a louder voice.
He suggested that the Accountant General’s Department and other agencies appointed specific schedule officers to attend solely to the problems of the aged with regards to paying their retirement benefits and other monies due them.
Pastor Harry Mettle, General Secretary of the Great Consolidated Peoples Party (GCPP) suggested that government provided free transport and free medical care for the aged.
Mr Francis Sowah, Acting Greater Accra Organizer of the United Renaissance Party (URP) said ageing issues should be approached dispassionately devoid of one’s political lineage since everybody had the tendency to grow old.
He urged government to make policies that favoured ageing and the aged in the country and promised that the URP when voted into power would work towards that.
Mr Ebenezer Adjetey-Sorsey, Executive Director of Help Age Ghana, said the ageing population had tripled within 30 years and globally one out of every 10 persons was an aged.
“It is estimated that one out of every five will be 60 and above by 2050,” he added and appealed to political parties to pay attention to issues of the aged since it was crucial to national development.
Source: GNA