Elderly need support through national policies

 

 

A Bank of Uganda stand in a finance and insurance expo in Kampala. The government seems set to close the financial year with a huge revenue shortfall. Photo/Morgan Mbabazi  Nation Media Group

By  DOROTHY KWEYU Special Correspondent
 

 

In Summary

• Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda have adopted national policies on ageing since 2002, when the AU’s Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing was put in place.
• Of these, only Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania “have evidence allocating budgets” for older people’s programmes.

A new UN report places East and Southern African countries high up among African nations that have adopted policies on ageing.

According to the report, Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: A Celebration and A Challenge, seven African countries — Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda — have adopted national policies on ageing since 2002, when the AU’s Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing was put in place.

Of these, only Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania “have evidence allocating budgets” for older people’s programmes.

In another cluster of eight African countries that have established specialised bodies or included ageing issues within a ministry, namely Cameroon, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda, the East and Southern African countries are, again, the majority.

In Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa, older people’s healthcare has been mainstreamed into the general health policy, through the National Reproductive Health Strategy and the National Health Sector Strategic Plan of Kenya.

Mozambique’s National Health Policy and South Africa’s National Health Charter and the National Health Act include older people as a vulnerable group that may, “subject to resources,” be eligible for free health care.

South Africa made additional provisions through the Older Persons Policy of 2006, which contains measures to make cataract surgery affordable for all older persons, and offers free transport for older people to state health facilities.

In Mozambique, older people are included in the National Strategic Plan for HIV/Aids, while HIV and Aids are addressed in South Africa’s Older Persons Policy. The Kenya Aids Strategic Plan also refers to older people, although this category is limited to people aged 50 to 64.

All this sounds good — on paper. In reality, elderly people face challenges of income security and access to health and housing, as it emerged from discussions at a recent workshop organised by HelpAge


International, an organisation that advocates the rights of older people. Senior citizens also bear the brunt of the HIV and Aids pandemic.

According to Dr Douglas Lackey, HelpAge’s regional advocacy and communications manager, older people are not only sexually active, but also carry the burden of caring for children orphaned by Aids. “Older people can be infected by the virus; they are sexually active, and need to know about safe sexual behaviours,” he said.

His organisation has programmes that address the information needs of older people with regards to HIV/Aids.

Dr Lackey’s sentiments are echoed in the ageing report, which says: “While family ties remain strong, traditional support systems have changed. Migration of younger adults and the impact of HIV and Aids have led to a rise in the number of ‘skipped-generation’ households consisting of older people and children. Much of the responsibility for caring for family members living with HIV and for orphaned children falls on older women, most of whom receive little or no formal support.”

HIV and Aids became an older people’s issue in the earlier part of this century when many infected people died. At that time, Kenya began to put strategies in place for the care of orphans and vulnerable children.

The country is now credited with a successful cash transfer programme for orphans and vulnerable children, which puts money in the hands of the elderly grandparents looking after them.

Thanks to Kenya’s pioneering programme helping 2,000 households in 44 districts, children’s attendance in school has increased. The cash transfer programme is now being piloted in Lesotho and Zambia

Another key concern for senior citizens is poverty. The UN report notes that ageing in Africa is occurring against a background of immense economic and social hardship, and describes the situation of older people as “precarious.” Most older people in Africa live in rural areas where there is little access to services and markets.

Poverty is blamed for some of the attacks on older people, including the lynchings of “witches have been reported in parts of Kenya, Mozambique and Uganda.

Charles Champion of Mozambique says witchcraft claims are rooted in poverty. Rarely are rich older people labelled witches. On the other hand, calling poor older persons witches provides the excuse to lynch them in a war for resources.

Among countries that have made efforts to mitigate the impact of poverty on older people is Tanzania, which, according to the UN report, specifically includes older people in its 2005 National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty, known as the Mkukuta.

On its part, Zambia last month approved a policy on ageing. However, this did not come easy. As Rosemary Sishimba, the executive director of the Senior Citizens Association of Zambia, notes, it took years and was only possible after stakeholders visited their vice-president.

Ms Sishimba is not celebrating yet, because “we still have a hurdle; we want it enacted into law.”

She notes that although the country has a health policy for older people, senior citizens are covered for only consultation fees, and patients must pay for drugs. “I’d rather pay consultation fees of 40 kwacha ($0.008) instead of 900 kwacha ($0.17) for drugs.”

Lack of data was also identified as a major hindrance to delivery of services to older people. According to Sam Obara, who manages HelpAge’s HIV/ Aids programmes in five African countries, a demographic shift has occurred on the continent, with more people living longer. In spite of this reality, there is inadequate data to help countries to plan services for older people.

Given that most of the region’s leaders are 60 years and above — the age at which senior citizenship in the developing countries is pegged — heads of state seem to be in denial when it comes to championing their lot’s agenda.