The Ageing Still Deserve A Place

On October 1, 2024 Cameroon joined the rest of the world to celebrate the 34th International Day of Older Persons under the theme “The Part We Play”. Though the celebrations went on hitch-free with a lot merrymaking, the debate on the role played by older persons did take center stage throughout the activities. Coming in the context of Cameroon’s post ratification on 28 December 2021 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Protection of the Rights of Older Persons, adopted on 31 January 2016 in Addis Ababa, the occasion was an excellent platform to spell out the indispensable role played by older persons in the society. Just as the Minister said during the celebrations, “Ageing does not mean becoming useless and cumbersome. Ageing is not synonymous to dependency and care. We need to build sustainable and equitable systems that ensure their participation in policy-making”. In the case of Cameroon, the journey to change our mentality and grab vital information from older persons is still very long despite the existence of a national policy document for the promotion and protection of the elderly, which serves as a compass for actions to be taken and as a tool for raising awareness on the problems associated with this component. The policy document is backed by a multi-annual national action plan which identifies priority areas on which the various sectoral actors must focus their actions in order to; Raise community awareness on the need to respect their human, social, economic and political rights; Encourage older persons to participate as citizens in socio-economic development; Educate public opinion about the need to change perceptions of inactivity and unproductivity; Promote the essential roles they are called upon to play in the society; Strengthen care and support systems to provide adequate infrastructure and; Create opportunities for decent work.
Despite these priorities, stories abound on how the elderly people are not only a major burden for the pension system, but are tagged “witches and wizards” whose primary objectives are to destroy. No doubt most of the accidents on our roads, premature deaths in our families, failure to get a visa to travel abroad or being appointed to a top position in the administration is attributed to them. In the midst of all these doomsday stories we hear without evidence, is the fact that people who live longer should be celebrated as one of the biggest success stories in history. As the saying goes: “Getting old is better than the alternative.” Like any younger person, the older persons deserve a place in the society. They shop, use services and pay taxes. They also volunteer; in fact, many organizations would be hard pressed to function without their older volunteers. Older persons also give generously. They make more charitable donations per capita than any other age group. How can one imagine what would happen to our economy if, suddenly, no grandparents are available to look after grandchildren.  How many parents would have to scramble to find other care options or would have to miss work because they couldn’t find alternatives? Old persons are also indispensable in home maintenance and yard work not just for themselves, but for others as well. They provide emotional support and friendship, transportation and run errands for others.
Thus, rather than having ...