KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 1
The National Human Rights Commission has urged the Government of Nepal, provincial governments, local levels, political parties, non-governmental organisations and all stakeholders to effectively act on the national and international laws related to senior citizens to ensure all kinds of services, including health service, to them.
On the occasion of the International Day for Older People, the rights body stressed the need to punish those who abuse senior citizens and to respect the knowledge, skills and experiences of senior citizens, in addition to protecting and promoting their rights.
The Day was celebrated with the slogan 'Fulfilling the promises of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for Older Person: Across Generation.' It is estimated that there are 760 million people over the age of 60 in the world. According to recent data of National Census, the population of senior citizens in Nepal is 2,977,318 . The global population of senior citi-zens is projected to increase up to two billion by 2050 due to improvement in average life expectancy.
The increase in the average life expectancy of senior citizens is positive. However, the problems facing senior citizens have emerged as a challenge.
According to the NHRC, many senior citizens are becoming isolated in Nepal due to their caretakers going abroad for employment, nuclear family system and yawning inter-generational gap. Similarly, incidents of abuse of senior citizens are increasing. Likewise, there is no respect and protection for senior citizens from the family, society and the state.
It is worrisome that the incidents of senior people being confined to old age homes without proper care from the responsible family members are increasing with each passing day, the NHRC warned.
Similarly, lack of implementation of provisions such as social security allowance, health insurance, health treatment discount facility, transport discount facility and provision of reservation seats in public transport have posed more challenges.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 2, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
