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Kenya pledges new measures to protect senior citizens from abuse

Xinhua, June 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Kenyan government will hasten enactment of new policy and legislative instruments to shield elderly citizens from different forms of abuse, senior officials said on Wednesday during an event to mark the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Ministry of Labour and Society Services Principal Secretary Susan Mochache said Kenya is committed to promoting welfare of senior citizens in line with local and global statutes.

"Older persons in many parts of the country are grappling with both physical and emotional abuse at the hands of nuclear family and society at large. This calls for pragmatic legislative and policy interventions to address those ills," Mochache said.

Kenya has endorsed regional and global conventions on strengthening social safety nets for elderly persons in the light of abject poverty and ill health weighing heavily on them.

Mochache said that besides rolling out cash transfer schemes for senior citizens, the government has also partnered with civil society to implement health and education programs tailor made for this demographic.

"The government has put in place a raft of measures to ensure senior citizens age gracefully while contributing to national development," said the Principal Secretary, adding that abuse meted to elderly people will attract stiff penalties.

The East African nation joined the rest of the world in marking the Elder Abuse Awareness day that was designated by the United Nations in June 15, 2006.

According to government statistics, elderly people aged over 60 years comprise 5 percent of Kenya's population and the number is set to rise thanks to lengthy lifespan occasioned by rising incomes.

International and grassroots campaigners renewed call for robust interventions to eliminate all forms of abuse against elderly people in Kenya and the rest of Africa during the UN Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Bridget Sleap, the Senior Rights Policy Advisor at Help Age International, regretted that abuse of elderly citizens remains a silent scourge in many societies hence the need for advocacy and law enforcement to eradicate it.

"Elder abuse can be dangerously invisible as it is often a taboo subject while older people are reluctant to report it. We are calling for better data on violence and abuse against elderly persons in order to tackle this vice more effectively," Sleap said. Endit