Global NGO HelpAge International Kenya is in the process of carrying out a survey on the elderly people around the country meant to inform and influence policies and programmes that safeguard them.
The NGO Programmes Officer Lydia Makena said one major problem facing the elderly was lack of data on issues affecting them to inform policy action for their wellbeing by relevant actors including the Government.
“We are trying to generate evidence to inform the Government to put in place measures to protect older persons,” Ms Makena said.
She said because of the gaps in such data, policy makers do not know the extent of their challenges including healthcare provision, income and personal safety and what needs to be done to address them.
Speaking on Wednesday at Kiritiri Market in Mbeere South Sub-county, Embu, during a data collection drive, the officer said the research was qualitative in nature by placing emphasis on their experiences and perceptions and not their numbers per se.
“We expect by the end of November, we will have gathered enough data that we will disseminate back to the community and also to the Government to inform future policy decisions,” she said.
She continued that they are also trying to rope in other stakeholders including healthcare providers and security apparatus so that they can be more responsive to the needs of older persons.
“We also want to work with service providers like health care providers and payment agents for the Inua Jamii Cash Transfer Programme to ensure their health and upkeep is well taken care of,” she said.
Senior Citizen and Community Leader Prof Godfrey Nguru said the needs of the elderly are myriad with the main ones being lack of healthcare and income.
“Among the challenges facing the elderly is a multiplicity of chronic illnesses for instance hypertension, dementia, diabetes and so on and the cost of medicines to treat them is out of reach for many,” he said.
He said the Sh2,000 stipend given to them every month in the social protection programme was too insignificant to buy medication and food.
“In my case, I spend more than Sh 6,000 a month on hypertension medication alone. The Sh 2,000 I receive cannot do that, “Prof Nguru said.
He lamented that the current generation does not care much about the elderly thus more needs to be done from the government side to safeguard their lives.
By Samuel Waititu
