Ehsan Centre marks World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Ehsan Centre for Empowerment and Elderly Care held yesterday a panel discussion on social security and providing protection for the elderly  against discrimination.The panel was held to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which is observed on June 15. Experts from the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, Qatar National Human Rights Committee, and Ehsan Centre participated in the discussion. The event aimed to raise awareness on the rights of the elderly and their basic needs, and introduce the role played by the centre in the Qatari society, in addition to discussing the most important issues pertaining to the elderly. Mubarak bin Abdulaziz al-Khalifa, CEO, Ehsan Centre, said that the centre was committed to raising awareness on the need to care for the elderly and celebrate international events related to them, especially World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. For her part, Noura Ali Hassan of the Ministry of Administrative Development said that Qatar has guaranteed the rights of the elderly through various means such as the constitution and laws that protect and maintain their dignity, particularly in terms of social security, housing and employment. For her part, NHRC legal expert Rania Jaballah said that new statistics show that the elderly in Qatar represent about 2.2% of the population and are expected to increase to 27.6% in 2039 due to the quality of healthcare and social security. She highlighted the need to intensify campaigns and efforts to sensitise current and future generations on how to deal with them and enhance the humanitarian and societal aspects of caring for this important group in society.Jaballah also said it has been proved that educating the individual and urging them to change negative behaviour is more important than applying legislations and laws. “The Qatari constitution guarantees and protects the rights of the elderly.”He highlighted the need to have social clubs for the elderly to play sports and socialise, in addition to the need to include the skills of dealing with them in school curricula to educate the current generation. Zainab Mohamed of Qatar Lawyers Association called on the need to issue a new Qatari law that protects all Qatari retirees from ministries, agencies and companies operating in the state, including private companies and business owners. She also called for a review of the pensions to provide them with adequate living services that ensure a decent life for them. (QNA)