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The director of the Center for Aging Studies at the University of Ghana, Professor Charles Mate-Kole, says the Covid-19 outbreak in Ghana has worsened the social isolation of older adults and threatened their health status.
He said that perceptions towards older adults in the country have been infused with negative attitudes towards age discrimination, especially against the frail older adult woman who is single, poor, uneducated and experiencing some cognitive impairment.
Professor Charles Mate-Kole said that with the rapid growth of older people in Africa and Ghana, it had become necessary to pay attention to aging-related studies.
“According to reports from the United Nations (2017) and WHO (2018), Ghana had an estimated older adult population (thus 60 years and older) of 7.1 percent in 2015, an increase of 4, 5 percent in 1960, ”he said.
He added that the share was projected to rise to 9.8 percent (about 5 million) by 2050.
The professor said that recent studies among older adults in Ghana reported a high prevalence of chronic medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and cataracts along with the substantial prevalence of specific geriatric conditions such as falls and mobility disorders, urinary incontinence and cognitive impairment.
“There is increasing isolation and neglect of older adults as a result of the migration of young people from rural areas to seek better jobs in urban centers and abroad,” he said.
The Director said that until recently there were no centers or institutions dedicated to aging studies in Ghana or the subregion.
The Center for Aging Studies (CFAS) at the University of Ghana is the first of its kind in the subregion and comprises an interdisciplinary group of faculties with an interest in teaching and research on issues related to aging and older people.
The Center aims to provide resources for healthy aging, conduct cutting-edge research and provide training in aging studies, he explained in a statement he signed and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
Professor Mate-Kole gave this advice when the Center commemorated the 30th anniversary of the United Nations International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP) on Thursday, October 1, 2020, in association with the Samuel Amo Tobbin Foundation, after bringing together stakeholders, including;
Academics / researchers, health professionals, caregivers, social workers, religious institutions, governmental / non-governmental institutions and older people in Ghanaian society to discuss and implement national strategies and action plans on aging.
The commemoration had as its theme: “Pandemics: Are they changing the way we approach aging and aging?
It revealed that the Center was also collaborating with the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons in the training of physicians in the specialty of Geriatric Medicine.
“As we celebrate another milestone in recognition of our seniors, the Center wishes to recommend the following: Young people in our society should pay more attention to older adults and provide them with social, material and spiritual support in the best possible way. their abilities, recognizing that one day they will also age, ”he advised.
Professor Mate-Kole also encouraged older adults to strictly adhere to the WHO / Ghana Health Service protocols and directives to combat the disease and asked caregivers in individual homes and institutionalized nursing homes to follow strict protocols. infection prevention by providing care.
Churches and religious organizations, he said, had to find innovative ways to meet the spiritual and psychosocial needs of their older adults who had been excluded from congregational worship.
“Finally, CFAS adds its voice to the voices of other stakeholders to make a strong call on our Government and our Parliament to give urgent attention to the Senior Citizens Bill and enact it.
The law will provide general guidelines for the comprehensive care of the elderly population. The main political parties have made promises about the elderly in their manifestos. The Center and, in fact, all interested parties, therefore, await the manifestation of these promises, ”he said.
