Older people should be consulted when governments develop policies, plan communities and design services.
Retired Public Service Commission commissioner Nashilongo Shivute made the call during the sixth African Union Specialised Technical Committee on Social Development, Labour and Employment experts’ meeting in Windhoek on Wednesday.
She was speaking during a side event on social protection, health, education and care systems for healthy ageing in Africa.
Shivute said older people have the knowledge and experience to contribute to society, and should not be seen as beneficiaries of government programmes only.
Shivute said governments should make better use of older people’s knowledge by incorporating it into education and development programmes.
She also said retired professionals still have skills governments can use to improve public programmes.
“We have worked.
“Why do we have to go and run to look for clinics and offices of labour commissioners and other things?
“They must come look for us,” she said.
Her remarks come as experts from across Africa are calling for stronger policies, better research and greater investment to prepare for the continent’s growing ageing population.
TOUGH CONDITIONS
Research presented by Janet Ananias, senior lecturer in the department of psychology and social work at the University of Namibia, showed that many older people in Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Malawi are ageing in difficult conditions.
The ongoing regional study interviewed 340 older people and their caregivers across 340 households in 19 sites in the four countries.
Ananias says most older people live in rural areas and remain in family homes rather than residential care facilities.
“The family is the backbone of our communities, but the realities we found from our study are that our family structures have also changed because of demographics and economic pressures,” she says.
“The environment in which our older people are living and where care is being provided is not enabling,” she said.
HelpAge International representative Roseline Kihumba says African countries have made progress over the past two decades by adopting laws, policies and strategies that promote the rights of older people.
“Africa and Asia are the two continents where the number of older people is increasing faster than anywhere else.
“That means we need to speed up the process of creating laws, policies and systems that safeguard their dignity and well-being,” she says.
Kihumba is calling for governments to integrate healthcare, primary healthcare, community and home-based care and social protection so that older people receive comprehensive support.
“None of our countries have done a standalone situational analysis for older people, and that could really help us move things faster,” she says.
