Expert advocates regulatory body for Senior Citizens Centre

Fri, Feb 16, 2018 | By publisher


Business

EMEM Omokaro, Executive Director, Dave Omokaro Foundation (DOF), has advised the Federal Government to establish a regulatory body for effective and efficient management of the Senior Citizens Centre.

Omokaro made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

NAN recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Senior Citizens Bill into law in January, this year.

Omokaro, who congratulated Buhari for assenting to the bill, explained that the proposed regulatory body would ensure the implementation of a set standard in accordance with the act.

Omokaro said that building human capacity and identifying experts already in the field would be of help in actualising the goal.

“We need a national implementation strategy in order for the centre to function effectively.

“Its functions will be to provide healthcare services, social programmes, design programmes as well as anything that will keep the aged healthy and happy.

“The centre must be purpose built and have to meet certain requirements; it must be safe, accessable, accommodating for all, the able bodied, the sick and the incapacitated aged ones.

“The centre should be culture based and determinant, specific and gender friendly,’’ she said.

According to her, experts must come together and draw a national framework as well as a policy for ageing.

She noted that there was no policy on ageing and without policy the actualisation of frame works on ageing would not be realised.

Omokaro advised that building the centre should not be the first action, adding that identification of the purpose of the centre should be paramount.

She also advocated for a policy in ageing as the first line of action in ageing, stressing that the policy would help sustain the centre. (NAN)

– Feb.  16, 2018 @ 16:59 GMT |

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