According to her, the visit is to initiate a relationship, partnerships, and engineer collaborations that will help the State Government drive a holistic policy for the elderly in the state.
Speaking after being received by the Director General of the Centre, Dr Emem Omokaro in the presence of senior directors of the agency at the NSCC’s headquarters in Abuja, Commissioner Ikpeazu-Nkemdiche explained that Soludo is passionate about the care for elderly people in the state and is willing for every form of partnership that will enable the realization of a society that prioritizes the welfare and standardizes the care for the elderly.
“I want to commend the National Senior Citizens Centre for the groundbreaking work they are doing in designing national policy guidelines and plans of actions for geriatric social care and geriatric social caregiving in the country.
“Anambra State Government will need all the technical assistance and wider collaborations in designing a peculiar policy framework that will provide answers to the unique elderly care needs in the state.
“This is in line with the kind of quality life Mr Governor envisions for the elderly in Anambra State.
“The kind of liveable and prosperous homeland the governor is trying to build is an all-inclusive one, irrespective of age, strata or other mundane considerations.
“That’s why it was important that the state draws from the template of the NSCC to develop a comprehensive scheme that will guarantee the realization of the governor’s vision for the elderly,” she said.
Responding, the Director General of the National Senior Citizens Centre, Dr Omokaro expressed joy to receive the Commissioner in her office and said she had taken a keen interest in Anambra State Government, after seeing the successes recorded through Governor Soludo’s social agenda in the state.
She expressed confidence that the State government is committed to enhancing the welfare and care of the elderly.
Dr. Omokaro while listing some of the milestones recorded by her agency since the creation of the centre, explained that gone are the days when elderly social care is relegated as an afterthought in public policy and emphasized that it is a multi-sectoral issue that demands to be mainstreamed as the population of elderly people continues to rise while the economic realities of families shrink, making it difficult for them to cater to the needs of their old people properly.
She, therefore, maintained that a holistic approach to the issues surrounding elderly care at Federal, state, and local government levels will help end the era where the elderly are only seen as burdens and start a new era where they are celebrated as very important members of the society who dedicated their life work to the betterment of society.
The National Senior Citizens Centre Director General also decried the ugly practice where the elderly who suffer from dementia are neglected, stigmatized, and tagged “witches” or “wizards” and called on all stakeholders to join hands together to create a better society for the elderly to thrive.
