Amman: Secretary-General of the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA), Mohammad Miqdadi, took part in the 61st session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD61), which was held last week in New York, as part of a panel discussion that reviewed the 4th evaluation of Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA).
In a NCFA statement issued on Wednesday, Miqdadi touched on in his intervention on the elderly in the Arab countries, as their percentage will become 7-14% of the total population during the next 15 years.
He said many elderly people are still at risk of poverty, disease and exclusion, and unincluded in social protection programmes, as 62% of the elderly over the retirement age in the Arab region did not receive a pension in 2020, compared to the global average of 78%.
In addition, he noted two out of every three elderly people are illiterate in six Arab countries.
In his intervention, he said disability rates for the elderly from 65 years and over may reach 31%, which entails more health expenses and makes them vulnerable to poverty.
Noting “successful” Arab models and experiences in this field, he said Jordan’s elderly care bylaw was issued and featured establishment of a cash fund to support development projects targeting this group.
Source: Jordan News Agency