QATAR: Doha International Forum to Discuss Role of Elderly

DOHA (Gulf Times), April 4, 2005: SOME 40 Arab and international experts are to participate in a three-day conference on ageing that starts today at the Ritz-Carlton. The ‘Doha International Conference on Ageing in View of Present Day Changes’ will focus on forming concepts that highlight the potential for active participation by the elderly in social development, the secretary general of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) told a press conference yesterday. Abdullah bin Nasser al-Khalifa, who also heads the preparational committee, announced the opening of the media centre for the conference, saying that the media is an essential partner on such occasions. He said that the conference reflects the concern of HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad about this section of Qatari society. The secretary general said the delegates will study the problems which elderly people face and offer practical and scientific solutions, in addition to encouraging research in the field of care giving, from a religious point of view in particular. General co-ordinator of the conference, Tarfa al-Sadah, said that Qatar is one of the few countries without old people’s homes. She believed that it is a sign that the state wants to involve them within society, rather than isolating them from their families. Al-Sadah said that SCFA’s committee for the elderly gives advice to those over the age of 60 through the Qatar Foundation for Elderly People Care. She said a recent study showed that elderly people in Qatar receive the same quality of treatment as in the United States. Al-Sadah pointed out that ageing expatriates also receive free medical treatment. She praised the SCFA for allocating the whole of October to mark elderly people’s day. Some 18,000 people in Qatar are listed as elderly and 10,000 of them are non-Qataris, the official said. The conference will examine the religious, health, social, legislative, cultural, and media aspects of the issue. Copyright Gulf Times Newspaper