By Elizabeth Mosima, Cameroon Tribune

September 27, 2006

The Minister of Social Affairs, Catherine Bakang Mbock, presided over the launching ceremony in Maroua yesterday.

The 16th edition of the International Day for Aged Persons will take place on October 1, 2006. The theme for this year is "Create a favourable environment and protect aged persons through improving their quality of life". Activities to mark the day in Cameroon kicked-off in Maroua in the Far North Province yesterday. The Minister of Social Affairs, Catherine Bakang Mbock, presided over the launching ceremony.

  According to resolution no 45/106 of 1990, the United Nations Organisation decided to celebrate 1st October of each year as the International Day of the Aged Persons (JIPA). The first edition was celebrated in 1991. The decision responds to the major preoccupation of the international community with regards to the ageing population. The first manifestations the United Nations was during the World Summit on Ageing Persons which took place from July 26 to August 6, 1982 in Vienna, Austria. Since United Nations is working hard to ensure that countries include in their polices the preoccupations of elderly persons in view of finding adequate solutions to the problems of this age group.

United Nations statistics hold that the number of persons above 60 years stood at 600 million in 2000 and will reach two billion in 2050.This will represent six percent of the population in developing countries with an average of 88 men for 100 women. Cameroon with a population of 15,292,000 inhabitants has 917,520 people above 60 years. It is certain that these figures will increase in future following the demographic growth rate of 3 % in the developing countries and the progress of medicine.

  The Madrid Plan of action on aging people and the declaration adopted in April 2002 by the second World Assembly on Ageing people marked a turning point in the manner in which world faces the essential challenge of edifying a society for old persons. The plan of action proposed a new approach on how to handle problems of old persons in the 21st century by adopting three major priorities: aged persons and development, promotion of health and welfare until the third age and the creation of favourable environments for the aged persons. The theme for this year aims at finding appropriate solutions to the problems of aged persons relating to some major aspects such as treatment for aged persons, reinforcing capacities of people who are taking care of aged persons, the fight against abandon, poor treatments and violence to the detriment of the aged persons and improvement of the image of aged persons.

La Presse (Tunis)  

3 Octobre 2006

Dans le cadre de la célébration de la Journée mondiale des personnes âgées, Mme Sarra Jarraya Kanoun, secrétaire d'Etat chargée de l'Enfance et des Personnes âgées, a assisté, dimanche soir, à La Marsa, à une soirée d'animation culturelle et sociale, destinée aux personnes âgées.

Cette manifestation a été organisée par l'Association du club tunisien pour la culture, les loisirs et le bien-être du troisième âge, à La Marsa.

I l est à rappeler que cette association a été créée en 1996. Elle fournit, dans le cadre de ses activités, des aides matérielles aux personnes âgées nécessiteuses et sans soutien, et leur assure un suivi psychologique permanent.

Les personnes âgées à l'honneur

D'autre part, une cérémonie a été organisée, le même soir à Radès, en l'honneur de plusieurs personnes âgées du gouvernorat de Ben Arous.

Mme Sarra Jarraya Kanou a présidé cette manifestation qui s'inscrit dans le cadre des festivités marquant la célébration de la Journée mondiale des personnes âgées.

Elle a, à cette occasion, mis l'accent sur l'attention particulière que le Président Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ne cesse d'entourer les catégories à besoins spécifiques, particulièrement les personnes âgées et son souci de renforcer la place de cette catégorie, qui représente 8% de la population tunisienne, au sein de la famille et dans la société.

Après avoir passé en revue les avantages et les aides fournis aux familles accueillant des personnes âgées, la secrétaire d'Etat a salué la dynamique que connaît l'Association régionale de protection des personnes âgées de Ben Arous qui, a-t-elle estimé, traduit l'enracinement des valeurs de solidarité chez tous les Tunisiens et le souci de contribuer à l'édification d'une société équilibrée.

L'ATM de la fête

Dans le même contexte, une soirée de solidarité a été organisée à Tunis, par l'Association tunisienne des mères (ATM), en l'honneur de personnes âgées.

Cette manifestation s'inscrit dans le cadre de la célébration de la Journée mondiale des personnes âgées. Elle a été marquée par la distribution de cadeaux à plusieurs personnes du troisième âge.

Mme Saloua Ayachi Labben, ministre des Affaires de la femme, de la famille, de l'enfance et des personnes âgées, s'est félicitée, à cette occasion, du caractère privilégié ayant marqué, cette année, la célébration de la Journée mondiale des personnes âgées, qui a coincidé avec l'avènement du mois saint du Ramadan, mois de la solidarité et de l'entraide.

Après avoir mis l'accent sur l'attention particulière que le Président Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ne cesse d'entourer les catégories à besoins spécifiques, particulièrement les personnes âgées, la ministre a souligné l'importance du rôle des différentes catégories de la société civile dans l'impulsion de l'élan de solidarité, et dans l'intensification des actions caritatives, en consécration de la dimension sociale de l'approche de développement initiée par la Tunisie du Changement.

Gabonews

La ministre gabonaise de la famille, Angélique Ngoma, dans une allocution prononcé samedi à Libreville, a demandé un acte d'amour pour les personnes âgées du pays ce dimanche à l'occasion de la célébration de la journée mondiale des personnes âgées.

Selon la ministre, le gouvernement a prévu organiser ce dimanche des actions de solidarité dans les maisons d'accueil des personnes âgées à Libreville, Tchibanga (Nyanga) et Oyem (Woleu Ntem).

Une table ronde sera organisée sur le thème « Personnes âgées et famille », a annoncé la ministre.

On rappelle que l'Assemblée générale de l'ONU a proclamé le 1er octobre Journée internationale pour les personnes âgées par une résolution 4 du 14 décembre 1990.

Cette décision s'inscrit dans le cadre des initiatives de l'ONU comme le Plan d'action international sur le vieillissement, adopté en 1982 par l'Assemblée mondiale sur le vieillissement et approuvé la même année par l'Assemblée générale.

En 2002, la deuxième assemblée mondiale sur le vieillissement a adopté le Plan d'action international de Madrid sur le vieillissement.

Namibia: Day Honors the Old

Hundreds of Namibian senior citizens ate, drank and danced their hearts away to the catchy tunes of local musician 'Whani' as they marked the International Day of Older Persons last week Friday.

The United Nation's General Assembly in fact designated this day to be celebrated on October 1 every year.

The event, which was held at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura, gave many of the elderly the opportunity and the time to be appreciated for the valuable roles they've played in, and the contributions they've made to, the development of the country.

It is quite sad that even after 16 years of independence senior citizens are still most of the time excluded from developmental programs and projects.

Expressing this concern during his keynote address, Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Richard Kamwi, said that the time has come for their involvement because "they deserve no less".

Thus the theme for this year: "Improving the Quality of Life of Older Persons:

Advancing UN Global Strategies" is befitting of this current state of affairs.

  Dr Kamwi said that the day is about celebrating the values of older people in society. "The primary goal of this celebration is to illustrate that the government cares for the health and well-being of our older people and simultaneously recognizes the important role they play in society," said Kamwi.

Over the years, the government's program for the elderly, especially that of social pensions, has been the key in alleviating poverty amongst them in order to ensure a decent standard of living.

At the same time this situation to a certain degree also mitigates the impact of HIV/Aids on the social economic lives of the many old people, especially those living in poor rural communities.

Nowadays, grandmothers have become burdened with looking after many of the Aids orphans and even their own children from their monthly pensions.

As a result, "families and communities who traditionally provided support to older people have become fragmented and destabilized by decades of discrimination during the colonial era and subsequent poverty and migration" explained Dr Kamwi.

Ultimately, the consequences of this situation are financial hardships, social isolation and the risk to their own health.

Besides HIV/Aids, another challenge facing the elderly these days is that of violence and abuse.

"Many older people are vulnerable to mental and physical abuse within their homes, within their communities, in residential care and by uncaring government and private sector officials," said Kamwi, adding that many are even exploited by family members over their social pension - even though it is their only source of income.

In view of this, he noted, the responsibility for senior citizens is not only in the hands of government alone, but everyone in the public and private sectors.

The onus now on all Namibians is to bring the invaluable attributes of older people out of obscurity and into step with the Millennium Development Goals.

At the same time, the health minister also launched the "Report on the Status and Living Conditions of Older People in Namibia".

The event ended off with cherishable moments when elderly couples were bestowed with gifts for being married for over 50 to 60 years.