The figure, which is predicated on 3.3 percent growth, would have people of 60 years and above joining the vulnerable groups of children and the physically challenged.
Making this disclosure in Abuja Monday, the Dave Omokaro Foundation (DOF) canvassed social, economic and health policies for the growing number of the nation’s angering population.
The Executive Director of DOF, Dr. Emem Omakaro urged corporate organisations to include the ageing population in their corporate social responsibility projects.
According to her, poverty and non-communicable diseases have conspired to rob a good number of the nation’s senior citizens of quality living in the twilight of their lives.
Projecting a 30 million population of the elderly by 2050, Dr. Omakaro charged government at all levels, corporate bodies, Non-Governmental Organisation’s and families to see the responsibility of catering to the aged as a sacred mandate.
She cited the practice in developed nations where the system makes adequate social, health and welfare provisions for the elderly, saying it’s time Nigeria copied the trend.
At the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the DOF and the International Institute on Ageing, United Nations-Malta, Dr. Omakaro projected an ageing population of 205 million for the African continent in 2050.
She stated that the MoU conferred the right and privileges on DOF as host organisation for all programmes and initiatives in aspects of the ageing population in the country.
According to her, the collective objective was to build capacities for mainstreaming effective proactive ageing strategies and related policy formation for stakeholders.
She advised the Federal Government to harness existing skills and passions, with the view to translating policy suggestions into national open-ended working group on ageing.
The DOF chief charged the government on the urgent need to review existing draft policies fashioned in 2003 and 2008 to reflect emerging trends and situations.
She explained that the central challenge was to find solution to how to establish a credible and fiscal dependable public transfer benefits system, which centres on healthcare for senior citizens.
Dr. Omokaro also stressed the need to ensure that demographic dividends accruing from investments in education, skill building and job creation for youths preclude any divestiture by familial transfer to support ageing parents and to create budget lines to fund ageing research and policy actions.
The Director of the International Institute on Ageing, United Nations-Malta, Dr. Marvin Fermosa said the objective of the session was to improve on current ageing policies that promise an improvement on the quality of life for the older population, so as to enable older persons to age actively, successfully and productively.
He identified poor health, poverty, exclusion from decision making process and violence against the aged as some of the challenges confronting stakeholders.
Representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, National Population Commission, the Budget Office, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and World Health Organisation were participants at the event.
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