SHAPING A FUTURE WHERE AGING IN KENYA IS CHARACTERIZED BY EQUITY
As we celebrate our 20th anniversary and being cognizant of the prevailing status of vulnerable older persons in the country, we wish to appreciate the improved status of older persons in Kenya through the efforts of stakeholders including families, the government of Kenya, civil society organizations both local and international, religious institutions, the private sector, and individual well-wishers.
We are aware that, much work still needs to be done to achieve an acceptable level of care for the older members of society. Therefore, we call upon the national Government of Kenya to prioritize issues of older persons to ensure that their rights and entitlements are respected in all spheres of life.
We are strongly calling upon both the National Assembly and the Senate to fast-track the older members of the society bill that has been back and forth before them to anchor issues of older persons in the law to realize article 57 of the constitution of Kenya 2010.
- We call upon the county governments to enact legislation and prioritize issues of older persons.
- The Ministry of Education and its agencies promote studies on the welfare of older persons to enable the citizenry to have a better understanding of aging processes and
- We call upon all Government ministries to ensure that older persons visiting their offices/facilities are treated with dignity. They should also strive to ensure that staff with knowledge of the challenges that come with aging are in place.
- Both national and county governments should come up with model homes to serve as benchmarks for institutions wishing to set up such homes.
We highly expect all older people in the country to form groups and coalitions that will be advocating for their rights, and promote the inclusion of older people and aging issues in the development agenda as espoused in the Africa Blueprint Agenda 2063.
We are appealing for more civil society organizations to include older people’s Rights advocacy activities in their programs.
KARIKA continues to advocate for more African States to speed up ratification of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons protocol. Inform AU Member States how the AU Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons strengthens the advocacy for a UN convention on the rights of older people.
KARIKA will continue to collaborate with like-minded organizations, network members, and other stakeholders committed to working collaboratively toward a more inclusive and age-friendly future in Kenya.
Thank you,
Elijah Mwega
FOUNDER /CEO