International Day of Older Persons held
International Day of Older Persons was celebrated under the patronage of Health Minister, Faeqa Al Saleh, with the theme,'Sustainability for Older persons in the urban environment,’ in the presence of Health Ministry's Undersecretary Dr. Aysha Buaneq.
The minister stressed that the theme of this month reflects the interest of the Kingdom in providing best care for elders.
The minister noted that the life expectancy in developed countries as well as developing countries increased over the past few decades where the number of elders over 60yearsold in 2000 was 600 million, adding that by 2030 the number will reach 1.4 billion, which is 20 per cent of the world's total population.
The minister said that the elderly make up 4pc of the population in the Kingdom and that this percentage will increase in 2025 to 14.5pc, noting that the life expectancy of the elderly increased because of the development in economy, education and health services.
She also noted that the leadership of the Kingdom provided comprehensive protection and care for the elderly. The ministry aims to apply initiatives of World Health Organisation by providing health centres in all the Kingdom's governorates in order to provide best healthcare to public, especially elders.
Coordinator of Elderly Services in Primary Health Care, Dr. Mona Al Shaikh said that the health ministry committed to develop primary, secondary and tertiary health services to the elderly on all levels by developing and training personnel, with provision of services such as mobile units, physiotherapy, dental care, psychology etc.
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