Damascus-SANA
The International Day of Older Persons aims to remind the importance of strengthening the efforts of those in charge of the health and social sector, to raise the level of services provided to the elderly, raise community awareness of ways to take care of them, support them healthily and psychologically, and celebrate their achievements.
The commemoration of the International Day for Older Persons this year, which falls on the first of October of each year, under the slogan "Elderly Resilience in a Changing World", comes to emphasize the importance of supporting this group, by confronting changes at various levels.
In Syria, governmental and civil efforts continue to support this social group, as the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, in cooperation with the Syrian Commission for Family and Population Affairs, launched a strategy for the care of the elderly, since 2017, and training programs have been developed to help the elderly, through the training of volunteers in NGOs or those wishing to work through Courses at the Ministry's Career Guidance Center, in addition to seeking to activate the health insurance file for the retired elderly.
With one government home for the elderly in Damascus, Dar Al-Karama, but it was able to provide appropriate services, according to its director, George Saada, explaining to SANA reporter that the residents of the home are provided with integrated health, social and psychological care, in coordination with specialized medical cadres, in addition to various recreational and social activities. Presented in cooperation with a number of NGOs and initiatives.
According to Saada, he resides in the home: about 110 elderly people from different governorates are provided with all services free of charge, as the focus is on supporting their skills, and engaging them in artistic and cultural activities, to express their skills and mobilize their free time, and their work is presented in art exhibitions and various social activities, including sessions conversational.
The Ministry of Health, through the Directorate of Health Care, and through hospitals and health centers, is keen to provide health care, preventive and curative services for the elderly, in addition to spreading awareness about the needs of this segment and ways to help them, with the aim of providing and enhancing their status, and securing a supportive social environment for them.
In a statement to SANA, the head of the Seniors and Adults Program, Dr. Rola Asaad, indicated that the program includes all medical services, care for people with chronic diseases, and securing medicines for them, in addition to health education for the elderly caretaker, where the focus is on how to primary care for them, In addition to taking care of elderly accidents, especially falls, because they are a fragile age group.
Statistics from the World Health Organization indicate that by the year 2050 the elderly will constitute about 22 percent of the world's population, which requires developing plans to confront this increase and meet their needs.
In 1990, the United Nations designated October 1 as the International Day for Older Persons.
Muhannad Suleiman and Rama Rashidi
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