Wither the plight of Older Persons ?

By D. A. Jawo

As the Gambia joins the rest of the world in observing the International Day of Older Persons on 1st October, we also need to reflect on how older people and other vulnerable members of society are being treated in this country, both at the official level as well as at every other level of the society.

While there is no doubt that older people are still revered and given some degree of respect within the society, especially compared to how they are being treated in other more developed societies where they are often dumped in old people’s homes, but the policy level leaves quite a lot to be desired.

It is of course commendable that the Gambia has ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa, as well as recently launched the National Social Protection Policy 2026–2035, providing a framework for strengthening social protection over the next decade and for identifying older persons among the vulnerable groups requiring attention, but such goodwill is yet to reach the older persons or have a meaningful impact on their everyday lives in this country. Hardly anything has changed in the way that older persons and vulnerable people are being treated at every level of society. There appears not enough goodwill in pursuing these noble policy objectives, including the fact that the formal steps needed to domesticate the articles of the African Union Commission protocol are not being pursued with the necessary vigour.

When compared to what happens in many other countries in their treatment of older persons and other vulnerable people, the Gambia has quite a long way to go. In neighbouring Senegal, for instance, there is a well established policy which has filtered down at almost every level of the society giving priority to older persons and other vulnerable people in public institutions as well as other places like banks and public transport. In virtually all their institutions, those they refer to as Troisième Age (60 years and above) and vulnerable people are given special treatment and priority of service.

However, in this country, it is quite a common sight to find old and frail people as well as pregnant and lactating women being required to join long queues in banks and similar institutions waiting to be served, or even having to stand in public buses for long periods with no one offering them a seat.

One way of addressing the matter would be for relevant public institutions such as the Department of Social Welfare to launch sensitizations campaigns in order to inculcate such positive values in our society. We also expect the government to upscale its implementation of policy directives aimed at older persons and vulnerable groups rather than continuing with their hollow rhetoric.

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