As part of moves to drive Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s promise to mainstream care for the vulnerable in Anambra state especially the elderly, Anambra State Commissioner for Special Duties, Rt Hon Barrister Beverly Ikpeazu-Nkemdiche has embarked on a fact finding visit to the National Senior Citizens Centre, NSCC.
The visit, according to her, is to initiate an ongoing relationship, partnerships and engineer collaborations that will help Anambra State Government drive a holistic policy for the elderly in the state.
Speaking after being received by the Director General of the Centre, Dr Emem Omokaro in the presence of senior directors of the agency at the NSCC’ headquarters in Abuja, Commissioner Ikpeazu-Nkemdiche explained that Governor Soludo is passionate about the care for elderly people in the state and is willing for every form of partnership that will enable the realization of a society that prioritizes the welfare and standardizes the care for the elderly.
She commended the National Senior Citizens Centre for the groundbreaking works they are doing in designing national policy guidelines and plans of actions for geriatric social care and geriatric social caregiving in the country and explained that Anambra State Government will need all technical assistance and wider collaborations in designing a peculiar policy framework that will provide answers to the unique elderly care needs in the state.
Responding, the Director General of National Senior Citizens Centre, Dr Omokaro expressed joy to receive the Commissioner in her office and said she had taken a keen interest in Anambra State Government after seeing the successes recorded through Governor Soludo’s social agenda in the state, saying that she is confident that the Anambra State government is committed to enhancing the welfare and care for the elderly.
Dr Omokaro while listing some of the milestones recorded by her agency since the creation of the centre, explained that gone are the days when elderly social care is relegated as an afterthought in public policy and emphasized that it is multi-sectoral issue that demands to be mainstreamed as the population of elderly people continue to rise while the economic realities of families shrink, making it difficult for them to properly cater to the needs of their old people.
She, therefore, maintained that a holistic approach to the issues sorrounding elderly care at Federal, state and local government levels will help end the era where the elderly are only seen as burdens and start a new era where they are celebrated as very important members of the society who dedicated their life work to the betterment of society.
The National Senior Citizens Centre Director General also decried the ugly practice where the elderly who suffer from dementia are neglected, stigmatized and tagged “witches” or “wizards” and called on all stakeholders to join hands together to create a better society for the elderly to thrive.
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