Uganda will today celebrate the International Day of Older Persons, with the main function hosted at State House Entebbe.
President Yoweri Museveni will be the chief guest at the function that will begin at midday.
Tomorrow, October 1st, we celebrate the International Day of Older Persons. I will deliver an address at midday, covered by @ubctvuganda, as we celebrate our senior citizens. @FrankTumwebazek #IDOPUG2020 pic.twitter.com/gZsXPjXVyO
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) September 30, 2020
The event is being organized by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development under the theme: “Upholding the rights of Older Persons during Covid19 Pandemic: A Call for Action”.
According to Sarah Kanyike, Minister of State for Disability and Elderly Affairs, communities throughout the country and around the world use this day to raise awareness of the rights of older persons tasking stakeholders to promote the safety and well-being of the elderly.
As government makes efforts to combat the pandemic, Kanyike said the country should be mindful of the extent to which the older persons have greatly been affected.
“This is because, many older persons have several underlying health conditions like hypertension, diabetes, cardiac, renal, and respiratory problems among others that are common in old age,” she said
She said the government through the ministry is aware of all these limitations and are working to ensure that older persons’ rights and welfare are upheld.
She said the ministry managed to complete the national rollout of the Senior Citizens Grant payments, under the Social Assistance Grants Empowerment (SAGE) which had been interrupted by the COVID-19 lockdown.
The SAGE Programme is now present in all the 135 districts, including Kampala capital City, according to the minister.
She said the ministry is going ahead to reach out to older persons who missed out on the mass enrolment and subsequently could not access the grant.
Kanyike said the ministry is also drafting the older Persons bill 2020 which is aimed at enacting a law that will enhance the rights of older persons.
She said the bill is now ready for submission to Cabinet.
She called upon stakeholders to continuously and at all times uphold the rights of older persons.