President Yoweri Museveni will tomorrow, Thursday, be the chief guest as Uganda celebrates the International Day of Older Persons, with the main function hosted at State House Entebbe, beginning at 10am.
The event is being organized by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development under the theme: “Upholding the Rights of Older Persons during COVID 19 Pandemic: A Call for Action”.
The United Nations General Assembly under resolution 45/106 designated 1st October the International Day of Older Persons.
The day is marked to recognize the contributions made by Older Persons and to create awareness among the public on the rights and needs of the older persons.
Furthermore, this is the day the government and other stakeholders take stock of what has been achieved, the gaps and possible solutions to address these gaps.
In Uganda, life expectancy has increased from 45 years in 2002 to 64 years today and this indicates that the number of Older Persons is increasing as people are now living longer, Sarah Kanyike, the state minister for the Elderly and the Disabled, said, citing UBoS figures of 2017.
“This increase in life expectancy has been attributed to improved health care through technological advancement in the health sector, increased positive health-seeking behaviour and people adopting healthier lifestyles among others,” the minister said.
The National Housing and Population Census of 2014 showed that the population of Older Persons is 3.7%, which gives a population of 1,280,000 Older Persons.
Over the years, the government has also come up with measures to protect the rights of aged people and through the National Policy for Older Persons (2009), the government is focusing on key areas like economic empowerment, social security, food security and nutrition, health care and lifestyle for Older Persons, HIV and AIDS, education among others.
The Ministry is also currently rolling out the Senior Citizens Grant payments, under the Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE).
This national rollout will now see Senior Citizens Grants extended to all the 135 districts in the country, reaching 358,420 Older Persons.
