Govt mulls new Bill on free social services for the elderly
16th February 2011
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Deputy Minister Dr Lucy Nkya
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
is planning to draft a Bill on free social services for the elderly,
Parliament was told yesterday.
Responding to a basic questioned posed by
Bukombe Member of Parliament (Chadema), Prof Kulikoyela Kahigi, Deputy
Minister Dr Lucy Nkya said the law was in the pipeline.
The MP had wanted to know government
plans on supporting the elderly, especially those lacking families or
relatives to take care of them.
Nkya said the Bill, among other things,
would propose that all elderly the be allowed to access essential social
services by using special identity cards.
In the meantime, the deputy minister said
the government had already directed all regional medical doctors to
create a special window for the elderly and ensure that the windows have
a medical doctor and professional social welfare officer.
She also informed the House that the
government was implementing a lot of plans in taking care of the
elderly, naming some of them, as creating special homes for them and
facilitating the private sector to do the same.
Nkya said the government operated a total
of 17 homes for the elderly and voluntary agents running similar
centres on private basis operates an additional 24 homes are located in
different parts of the country.
Additionally, she said the ministry
through social welfare department provides human support like money to
the elderly and assist them to establish small scale businesses.
Dr Nkya said currently, the government
was preparing a social protection framework, which would be looking at
basic needs of the needy groups living in difficult environments,
including the elderly.
“We are working in collaboration with
district, municipal, towns and city councils to ensure needs of the
elderly are included in the councils’ development plans,” said the
deputy minister.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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