Oyo to establish geriatric hospitals in 33 LGAs for elderly care

…distributes cash, food items to 1,000 aged residents

As part of efforts to offer quality healthcare services for the aged in the State, the Oyo State Government has concluded plans to designate one primary healthcare centre as geriatric hospital in all the 33 Local Government Areas of the State.

The move, according the State Government, was planned to ensure that there is quality geriatric care for the elderly in the State with a to improving on geriatric medicine practice which focuses on the healthcare delivery for the elderly.

Similarly, the State Government distributed cash and food items to over 1,000 elderly residents of the State, restating its commitment to catering for the welfare of the elderly in the State.

Speaking at an event organised in commemoration of International Day for the Elderly in Ibadan, Toyin Balogun, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, noted that the event, themed “ageing with dignity” was held to add value to the lives of the elderly demographic and to teach them on how to live a fulfilling life, free from health challenges, neglect and isolation.

“The State Government will soon kick-start an elderly-friendly healthcare in nine Local Government Areas, which will later be expanded to other Conuncils before 2027”, she said.

While saying that the Governor Makinde-led Government has been people-centric by putting in place several interventions that are aimed at making life more meaningful for all segments of the society, Balogun stated that “this is a Government that is people-centric. This government is putting in place interventions that are in the best interest of the people.

“In some communities, the elderly ones are being looked at with derision but the government of Governor Makinde is committed to leaving no one behind. My Ministry is responsible for the welfare of women, children, elderly and the physically-challenged ones.

“We consider our elderly ones as a valued source, because these are people who have lived their lives in the service of their families, children and society at large. We think it is very important for us to make sure that we support them in their old age.

“For this intervention, which is a commemorative event, we feel that instead of dancing, we should do something that will add value to the lives of our elderly demographic. We are hoping, by next year, to expand the scope so that we can onboard more elderly people. Also, we are working in collaboration with a number of NGOs and agencies that have competencies in the care of the elderly.

“We have put in place plans that are going to be sustainable even beyond the lifetime of this government. One of them is social welfare intervention and we are hoping to be able to take action next year such that the elderly will benefit from stipends once every two or three months.

“In addition to that, we are going to be designating one PHC as an elderly-friendly health care centre. And in the last discussion we had, we said it is better for us to scale our intervention so that we can monitor and measure the result.”, Balogun said.