As part of moves to drive Governor Charles Soludo’s promise to mainstream care for the vulnerable in Anambra state especially the elderly, the State Commissioner for Special Duties, Hon Beverly Ikpeazu-Nkemdiche has embarked on a fact-finding visit.
This takes the Hon Commissioner to the National Senior Citizens Centre, NSCC.
The visit, according to her, was to initiate a relationship, partnership and engineer collaborations that would help the 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’s headquarters, Abuja, Commissioner Ikpeazu-Nkemdiche explained that Soludo was passionate about the care for elderly people in the state.
She said the Governor was willing for every form of partnership that would enable the realization of a society that prioritized the welfare and standardized the care for the elderly.
“I want to commend 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.
“Anambra State government will need all the technical assistance and wider collaborations in designing a peculiar policy framework that will provide answers to the unique elderly care needs in the state.
“This is in line with the kind of quality life Mr Governor envisions for the elderly in Anambra State.
“The kind of liveable and prosperous homeland the Governor is trying to build, is an all-inclusive one, irrespective of age, strata or other mundane considerations.
“That’s why it was important that the state draws from the template of the NSCC to develop a comprehensive scheme that will guarantee the realization of the Governor’s vision for the elderly,” she said.
Responding, the Director General of NSCC, Dr Omokaro expressed joy to receive the Commissioner in her office and said she had taken a keen interest in Anambra State government, after observing successes recorded through Governor Soludo’s social agenda in the state.
She expressed confidence that the State government was committed to enhancing the welfare and care for the elderly.
Dr Omokaro while listing some of the milestones recorded by her agency since its creation, explained that gone were the days when elderly social care was relegated as an afterthought in public policy.
She emphasized that it was multi-sectoral issue that demanded to be mainstreamed as the population of elderly people continued to rise while the economic realities of families shrank, making it difficult for them to properly cater for the needs of their old people.
She, therefore, maintained that a holistic approach to the issues surrounding elderly care at Federal, state and local government levels would help end the era where the elderly were only seen as burdens to start a new era where they are celebrated as very important members of society who dedicated their life work for the betterment of society.
The NSCC Director General also decried the ugly practice where the elderly who suffer from dementia were 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 enjoy.
