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As the world marks the International Day of Older Persons (IDOP), the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has advocated for accelerated action for the passage of the National Law on Aging (NAB).
The commission said that eight years after the state declared its intention to formulate a law to strengthen the human rights, health and well-being of the elderly, it had yet to finalize the bill and submit it to parliament for consideration.
“Some stakeholders have described the delay in passing the bill as a fact that has worsened the vulnerability of older people,” said a statement yesterday by Joseph Whittal, the CHRAJ commissioner in Accra.
Designated in 1990 by the United Nations, IDOP is commemorated on October 1 of each year, to deliberate and increase efforts to protect the human rights of older people around the world.
This year’s edition, which marks the 30th anniversary of the day’s commemoration, deals with the subject; “Pandemic: Are They Changing the Way We Approach Aging and Aging?” and focuses on defending the well-being of the elderly.
There were an estimated 703 million people aged 65 and over in the world as of last year and the number of older people is projected to reach two billion by 2050.
According to CHRAJ, the National Aging Law Project aimed to strengthen legislation initiated through a draft National Policy on Aging in 2003, which was revised in 2010 to become a national policy on aging, to defend the rights of the elderly.
The policy, the statement said, provided that older people had a full right to preventive and curative care, including rehabilitation and sexual care, which they were often denied.
“Ten years after the NAP, the state has yet to ensure that the health care needs of the elderly are comprehensively addressed by the National Health Insurance Plan (NHIS),” he said.
CHRAJ stated that physical therapy management of Parkinson’s disease and dementia, which were more prevalent among people over the age of 60, did not include most drugs for such conditions in the NHIS drug policy.
“The commission notes that some progress has been made over the years in promoting the rights of older persons in Ghana and recognizing the important role they play, more needs to be done.” She said.
Source: The Ghanaian Times
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