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Global Knights Foundation seeks rights’ promotion for older persons
A non-governmental organization, Global Knights Foundation, on Monday called on all stakeholders to promote the rights and integrity of older persons.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Mrs Ngozi John-Uya, made this call at an event in commemoration of the 2022 International Day for Older Persons, with the theme, `Resilience of Older Persons in a Changing World’ in Abuja.
According to her, promoting the rights of older persons is an opportunity for inclusion and wellness as they age gracefully.
She said the plight of older persons was worrisome, with issues of non-payment of pensions, health challenges, and outright discrimination.
In her words, “I have two family friends who are in the UK, they had prostrate issues, two of them were operated on free of costs, you go to England you get on the bus, once you have your card, you won’t pay for transport, healthcare you don’t pay.
“Why can’t we do the same here? Rather, what we see is people get impatient with even their own family members that are old people, sometimes, you walk into a room and then you start asking yourself what did they come here for? And then because they are not as fast as they used to be, people begin to get irritable with them.
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“You see what happens on pension lines. It’s sad, they go to the hospital, you see them, people even move away from them, they say they smell.’’
She however called for more advocacy to be done to ensure that the right institutions and policies were in place to promote the rights of older persons sustainably.
The executive director said the group was strengthening its partnership with the national commission for senior citizens to ensure that the challenges such as transport, and healthcare, were addressed in a holistic approach.
Dr Nimi Walson-Jack, a panellist, called for the establishment of care homes for older persons, saying this helps in promoting their rights and privileges.
According to him, traditional home care for the ageing population is not sustainable, with the migration of family members into other parts of the world.
He expressed optimism that the national commission for older persons would set up the centres to make retirement years comfortable for older persons.
