By Praise Chinecherem
A non-governmental organisation,
First Best Domiciliary Home Care World has disclosed its readiness to partner with the Anambra State government to address witchcraft stigmatisation and other forms of inhuman treatment against aged persons in the State.
The group made the disclosure in Awka during official launching/Inauguration of the programme designed to take care of the elderly in the state abandoned by their children.
Speaking at the launch, United States of America-based clinical psychologist, Prof Kanayo Ofodile regretted that old age was treated as death sentence in Nigeria.
He called for re-orientation of the younger generation on the need to see the care of the elderly as an obligation.
He said: “I reside in a civiized country, U.S to be precise, and we see and learn how they care so much about old people who are vulnerable and cannot cater for themselves anymore.
“But it is a sad situation in our country. It looks like old age is a death sentence in our society. Children abandon their aged parents and relatives without care.
“Many aged persons are homeless, abandoned, lonely, unhealthy and unkempt, hence, the establishment of this organisation. There is the need to start prioritizing care for the elderly.
“We will be going round the state to pick up and cater to abandoned aged persons and our trained social officers will be going to give home care to those who crave for such services.
“We will be applying spirituality, clinical formulation and reasoning to improve the lives of the aged. Our society should not abandon the elderly, they are still very relevant.”
Chairman of the event, Ikemefuna Nwafor, noted that the programme was targeted at setting a template on what should happen to the aged segment of the population.
“It is sad that the aged in civilised countries aged gracefully and successfully while their counterparts in Nigeria are ageing in abandonment and frustration.
“Old age is a stage of life that we will all get to. It does not take a century to get there, it is just a matter of time. So, we need to plan and prepare to do better in taking care of the elderly in our society, “
Director, Care Services Nigeria, Mr Ekene Mbah said that over 80 per cent of the elderly in the society lack good domestic care and spend their old age through pains due to negligence and lack of caregivers.
On his part, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Ben Obidike, while declaring the event open, assure the group of government support to achieve it objectives.
“The movement is a welcome development and one of the programmes Soludo led-administration is interested to partner with, to enable us achieve the vision of making Anambra a livable and prosperous state in Nigeria,” he noted.
Also speaking, Traditional ruler of Ifitedunu community, Igwe Emeka Ilouno, said the elderly needed care and company, just as he identified loneliness and depression as their twin major killers.
He pledged to partner with First Best Domiciliary Home Care World to provide care for the elderly in his community.
He said, “So much people are dying in their droves and one of the contributing factors is loss of hope. As you get older, your circle of friends reduce, you get weaker and poorer, irrespective of what you’ve saved in life.
“You also discover that you’ll be depending on people who are also suffering, weaker, poorer than them. You discover such persons end up dying of loneliness and depression.
“As a surgeon, public health physician, anastasis and as a teacher of medicine, by the time I join the team to look at the patient, I’ll be able to decipher those who need treatment. Our communities will work with you so our people can age gracefully, be fulfilled and live longer.”
