Accra, Oct. 4, GNA - The Health Services Workers' Union (HSWU) has called on government to institute one district, one elderly care centre to mitigate the challenges facing the elderly in the country.
According to the Union as the country's life expectancy increases due to improved healthcare delivery, there was the need to take a second look at elderly care arrangement and make provision for the elderly.
It also called for the passing of the Aging Bill to adequately address the challenges of the elderly.
The advent of the Bill, the Union said would bring sanity and also mitigate all forms of discriminations that the elderly face in Ghana.
In an official statement issued and signed by Mr Reynolds O. Tenkorang, the General Secretary of HSWU and copied the GNA, said institutional form of caring for the elderly was a new phenomenon in Ghana.
The statement said about half of the elderly care institutions existed within the last five to 10 years are mostly located in the Greater Accra Region and were mainly dominated by private elderly care institutions.
The United Nations General Assembly voted on December 14, 1990, to establish October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons as recorded in Resolution 45/106.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “The Journey to Age Equality” and it seeks to draw the public’s attention to the existence of old age inequalities and the intergenerational risk of increased old age inequalities.
The statement said in recognition of the contributions of the elderly coupled with their plights, government drafted, signed, and promulgated the National Ageing Policy dubbed, ‘Aging with security and Dignity’ in 2010.
The major goal of the National Ageing Policy was to achieve the overall social, economic and cultural re-integration of older persons into mainstream society, to enable them to participate fully in the national development.
It said: "It is unfortunate that this policy has not yet been implemented despite the several follow-ups and lobbying by the various stakeholders and the Union.
"It is in this light that the Health Services Workers' Union, as an elderly-friendly and sensitive Union, wishes to take this opportunity on this special day to issue this release in support of our past members who have retired, the elderly across Ghana and beyond."
The HSWU of TUC (Ghana) in collaboration with the Trade Union Congress, the FOA and LO/FTF have been implementing an Elderly care project in Ghana to ensure that the elderly receive proper health care.
The statement said the Union believed that old age was inevitable and therefore issues affecting older persons must be of utmost importance to all stakeholders and government agencies in charge, adding that "development will only be achievable if it is inclusive of all ages."
According to the 2019 revised World Population Prospects, by 2050, one in six people in the world will be over age 65.
Between 2017 and 2030, the number of persons aged 60 years and above is projected to grow by 46 per cent (from 962 million to 1.4 billion) globally outnumbering youth, as well as children under the age of 10.
Ghana, like the rest of the world, is experiencing a gradual, but steady population ageing.
GNA
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