Kathmandu, May 3: Lawmakers have laid emphasis on the need of increasing number of daycare centre for senior citizens.
In today’s meeting of the Women and Social Affairs Committee under the House of Representatives drew the attention of the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, for the same.
On the occasion, Committee members said local levels have been establishing and running daycare centres at their own way and suggested the Ministry to take guardianship of daycare centres.
Committee member Shanti Shrestha said, “There are not daycare centres at most of the local levels. The federal government should take guardianship along with local levels.”
Stressing on the need of building old age home and daycare centres, Laxmi Tiwari suggested the Ministry to facilitate the problems seen in renew of senior citizen allowance.
She mentioned that old age home and daycare centre helps the senior citizens to stay socially and mentally healthy.
Most of the members of the Committee asked to expand the role of ministry as many senior citizens are unaware about the facilities and arrangements they get from the state, suggesting keeping the issue of learning of respect and care for senior citizens in school curriculum.
Joint-Secretary at the Ministry, Chandra Kala Poudel, said activities would be carried out targeting senior citizens and policy-level plan in the budget of the coming fiscal year.
The Ministry will make preparation for policy-level arrangement as preparation for coming fiscal year has already begun, she mentioned, adding the ministry has not its own mechanism for the same.
The federal government has supported to establish 225 elderly daycare centres at different local levels. As per the data of the Ministry, 108 daycare centres are in operation.
Poudel shared, “Situation of senior citizens of special condition is terrible. Something should be done immediately for the same. It is difficult to make understand that social security allowance is not only solution.”
Existing laws related to senior citizens, arrangements made from state, elderly population and current situation of old age home were discussed in the meeting. The country has 2 million 977 thousand population of senior citizens, which is 10 per cent of the total population.
Of it, senior citizens of the 60-74 years age is eight per cent, which is the highest percentage, while 1.8 per cent population belongs to the senior citizens of the 75-84 years of age.
Similarly, the population of senior citizens above 85 years is 0.5 per cent.
