FG restates commitment to health, social challenges of elderly Nigerians

THE Federal government has restated its commitment to address the health and social challenges of the elderly in Nigeria through its healthcare package.

Dr Saidu Dumbulwa, the Coordinator, Healthcare Package for Improving Quality Care on Ageing Population in Nigeria (HEPIQ-C), Federal Ministry of Health, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Dumbulwa said the federal government would address the health and social needs of the elderly in the country through the HEPIQ-C project.

The coordinator said that the project was designed to advance elderly peoples’ health and address some developmental issues relating to the aged in Nigeria.

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Dumbulwa said that the federal government had developed a national policy framework on healthy ageing for the elderly to ensure adequate attention to the elderly.

According to him, the focus of the framework will be to come up with an appraisal of programme work, address key bottlenecks and proposed strategic direction and guidance for implementation.

He said the implementation of the project would start with the training of the healthcare workforce and research reviews to identify opportunities and develop strategies for successful programme transition and sustainability.

Dumbulwa, however, called for synergy between the ministry and social development partners to ensure quality healthcare delivery for the elderly.

He said that the ministry would continue to evaluate the demand and supply side of healthcare for the elderly in Nigeria to enhance quality care for the aged population.

He also called for adequate training for health workers in Nigeria to provide them with the skills needed to deliver appropriate support and care to the elderly.

Dumbulwa said that the ministry was already collaborating with relevant institutions and organisations across the world to provide appropriate healthcare for the elderly through training and research.

He said that the collaboration was to deliver the demand and supply side of the healthcare workforce to meet the healthcare requirements for the ageing population in the country.

The coordinator said that the number of the elderly in Nigeria was growing at a fast rate, adding that more people will be in need of healthcare.