PAKISTAN: Seminar Demands Due Rights, Privileges for Elderly

KARACHI (The Dawn), April 21, 2003: Speakers at a seminar on “Care for the Elderly in Pakistan” organized by the Pakistan Senior Citizens Association, on Monday urged the government that senior citizens be provided their due rights and facilities which are available to their counterparts in other countries. Though the government had announced a policy to provide facilities to senior citizens over three years back, it had not yet been implemented. Earlier, senior citizens used to keep savings in various national savings schemes which gave good returns, but in recent years the interest rate had been brought down considerably. This had been affecting the income of the elderly. The speakers urged that interest rates be made more attractive for senior citizens. Banks and financial institutions be advised to give better returns to senior citizens. In developing countries, like Thailand and Sri Lanka, senior citizens were being given better returns on their savings. They said that subsidies on other facilities, like travel — air, rail, bus — and tax be provided to the elderly. Pointing out that the elderly were more prone to sicknesses, they urged the government that they be provided better health care facilities. They urged the government to reserve quota for senior citizens in new housing schemes. Pointing out that the senior citizens had a treasure of knowledge and experience in their respective fields, they urged the government that the able-bodied elderly be rehired on the part-time basis so that they could play their due role in the progress of the country by sharing their experiences and knowledge with the younger people. They urged the government that the scheme of Employees Old-age Benefit Institution be further expanded and improved and more organizations be registered with it so that a large number of workers could benefit from it after retirement. They demanded that the social security net, particularly for the elderly, be expanded. In his message Sindh governor Ishratul Ibad urged senior citizens to play their role in forging unity among the masses so that the national integration could further be strengthened. Senior citizens were an important segment of society and their socio-economic issues would be solved. The nation could benefit from the knowledge and experience of the senior citizens. One of the speakers lamented that the eastern culture and the region’s rich social traditions that taught caring for the elderly and giving them their due respect, were gradually vanishing from the society, which was creating issues for senior citizens. Geriatric medicine must be given importance in medical curriculum so that more doctors were able to handle cases of senior citizens who suffer from aging diseases and complications, one of the speakers felt.