Senior Citizen Centre Pushes For Social Safety Net For Older Persons
By Sharon Akuboh
The Director-General of National Senior Citizen Centre, Dr Emem Omokaro says, the Centre is poised to facilitate the inauguration of Social Safety Net for Older Persons only to further enhance their livelihood in the country.
Dr Emem Omokaro made this known in a Press Conference on Friday in Abuja.
She announced that there were about 70 Older Persons in each and every state of the federation benefiting from the grants for poor and vulnerable household under the National Social Investment Programme.
According to the DG, the NSCC Stakeholders Consultative Forum facilitated the authentication and identification of older persons in all state in the country including the Federal Capital Territory.
Dr Omokaro stated that many states have been paid and the few ones that remain would soon get paid in the shortest possible time, adding that NSCC has set up a structure that can facilitate the reach of Older Persons in Nigeria.
“Social Safety Net for Older Persons is the advocacy we have been pushing to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq.
“The Minister has actually approved our memo and we are to work with National Social Safety Net and Coordinating Office (NASSCO); which we have started already.
“We have drafted the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NASSCO and it is awaiting signing; and NASSCO has translated to us data on poor and vulnerable households across Nigeria.
“So what is left now is to sign the MoU and have a dedicated Social Safety Net for Older Persons. So far, they have captured in the data base 2.52 million poor Older Persons.
“And from that data base, they have extracted into the social register 250 older people that are now benefiting from.the household grant and that is about seven per cent of Older People.
“So we pushed and advocated that these older persons be extracted from the general households and then give us a dedicated Older People stand alone Social Safety Net,” Omokaro noted.
The NSCC boss explain that having a social safety net for older people would go a long way to enhance their livelihood and economy power to live a dignify life
She said the Center is collaborating with UN, government ministries departments and agencies to better the lives of older persons in healthcare service, agriculture, craft, recreation and intergenerational exchange of ideas.
“To achieve this, we have developed a national plan of action, linkages with states and local governments, engagement mechanism across the country to build sustainable stakeholders structure that would carry our messages to all nooks and crannies of the country”.
She said Nigeria has moved from no action to a very vibrant, energetic and robust activities to ensure that positive actions are taken to favour Older Persons and to also change the narrative.
Omokaro said the demography of Older Persons in Africa including Nigeria is increasing and there is need for synergy between the older and younger generations.
“However, October 1st is the International Day for Older Persons. The theme of the Day ‘Resilience of Older Women in a Changing World’ is apt to NSCC, as it gives us the opportunity to market what we are doing.
“Our independence also fall on Oct. 1, so President Muhammadu Buhari designated October 5th, National Day of Senior Citizens. So this year, we want to acknowledged the International Day for Older Persons.
“This would be the first time that a date is dedicate to celebrate senior citizens in Nigeria,” Omokaro declared.
