Government to establish fund for aged

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, has said government is working on an Aging Bill, which when passed into law, will see the establishment of an aged fund in the country.

The Minister, who announced this at a New Year party for the elderly in Tamale, said the aged fund would be used to address aging challenges and create a social safety net for the elderly in the country.

She said the Attorney General had finalized the Aging Bill and it would be presented to cabinet this first quarter where it would be referred to Parliament for passage into law to pave way for the establishment of the aged fund.

Nana Oye Lithur She said this would amongst others ensure that ageing would no longer become a dreaded experience as experienced by some people.

The New Year party for the elderly was organized by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) where it distributed quantities of rice, cooking oil and pairs of slippers to the elderly and freely registered 600 elderly persons from the Tamale Metropolis onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as well as 300 inmates of the Tamale Central Prison onto the NHIS.

The Minister said free registration of elderly persons from 65 years and above onto the NHIS saying was a demonstration of the government’s resolve to ensure that the elderly were well taken care of in the country.

The Minister said MoGCSP had so far registered 10,000 elderly persons in the Greater Accra, Volta, Eastern, and Ashanti Regions free for NHIS, adding that 6000 inmates of the Nsawam, Koforidua, Kumasi, Ankaful, Ho and Navrongo prisons were also registered free for NHIS by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.

She said an Aging Council was inaugurated to regulate the implementation of the National Aging Policy and an aging desk was established at the MoGCSP to address issues on the elderly.

Mr Ben Kusi, Director of Membership and Regional Operations of the National Health Insurance Authority, said the drive to register the elderly onto the NHIS was in line with the social protection mandate of the NHIA hence its support for the initiative.

Mr Mahama Sumani Tunaa, an elderly person from Gbabshei, who benefited from the initiative, expressed gratitude to government for the recognition and the initiative to freely register the elderly onto the NHIS.

Source: GNA