UNFPA and the Academy Handbook of comparative analysis of the global and regional human rights systems of older persons
National Standards and Practices
1. Equality and Non-discrimination based on Age
Arab Countries
With few exceptions, the rights to equality and non-discrimination in Arab countries are also entrenched in the constitutions. These rights have recently been complemented by national plans of action for the elderly - reflecting a higher awareness, at the official level, of the special needs and rights of the ageing. The constitutions in Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisiaxli stipulate that all citizens are equal before the law and prohibit discrimination. The National Plans of Action in Morocco, Tunisia,xlii Egypt,xliii and Turkeyxliv set the legal and policy framework of equality necessary for a comprehensive approach to elderly rights. The Moroccan National Strategy/Plan of Action (2008-2012) focuses on income, health, residence, and preserving the dignity of older people; a ministerial committee was set up to implement this plan.xlv Tunisia has taken a step further and complemented its national plan of action with another one for active ageing: “Society for All Ages” (2010), xlvi which aims to promote the rights and needs of older persons as an integral part of the needs of society as a whole.xlvii
2. Prevention and Protection of the Victims of Elder Abuse
Arab Countries
The rights and needs of older persons as victims of elder abuse have been recognized in some cases in the Arab countries. Among the programmes that recognize elder abuse as a problem are programmes that help protect older persons, including victims of elder abuse, and integrate them back into society. These programs serve as a model of cooperation between the government and civil society to provide protection to the most vulnerable older persons. Other features are laws that hold adult children responsible for the wellbeing of their ageing parents. This unique model highlights the social stigma associated with placing parents in nursing and old age homes. Tunisia - The Tunisian Elderly Protection Law (1994) lxxx outlines the services to be provided to older persons, and regulates the institutions that provide care for the elderly. The law was complemented by a series of regulations and decrees addressing the requirements for elderly institutions, and their rights and duties.
The Ageing with Dignity Programme, provided by the Association for the Protection of the Elderly, focuses on the psychological challenges of the elderly, with a focus on depression, particularly among abandoned or mistreated older persons. In addition to psychosocial services, the Programme offers health care and training in active-life skills. lxxxi The Alternative Family Programme, lxxxii supported by the Tunisian government, provides for alternative families to care for older persons. Each alternative family receives a monthly allowance to help them meet the needs of the older person they are caring for.lxxxiii Algeria - The Algerian Elderly Protection Law (2010)lxxxiv provides various levels of protection for the elderly, and stipulates that anyone who abandons their elderly parents or exposes the elderly to any risk is subject to imprisonment for up to six months, and fines.
3. Access to Quality Long-term Care and Health Services, including Sexual and Reproductive Health
Arab Countries
The universities in the Arab region have played an important role in improving access to healthcare through pro bono services as well as by advancing scholarship on the standards and quality of service. Good examples of the promotion and guarantee of the right to health range from constitutional provisions, as in the case of Egypt, to specific policies targeting 15 impoverished older persons, implemented by Tunisia. Efforts to reach the more vulnerable ageing persons, and to provide them with basic long-term healthcare services, led governmental and nongovernmental bodies to establish clinics in rural areas, and send healthcare providers to villages and remote towns. Most of the efforts focused on the elderly have been designed by governments as comprehensive initiatives that include care services, as well as social and financial protection systems.
In the majority of Arab countries, the governments bear the responsibility to provide health care and health security to the elderly, which is established by law. For instance, the Iraqi constitution establishes the government’s responsibility to guarantee social and health security of Iraqis in their old age. clix At the legislative level, Jordanian law No. 47(2008) on Public Health, provides that the Ministry of Health is the institution in charge of the oversight of health services provided to older people.. clx Similarly, the Egyptian Constitution stipulates the government’s obligation to provide health insurance for the elderly.clxi In Tunisia, as part of the public policy to ensure equal access to health care services, impoverished older persons are entitled to free health care through public facilities. clxii Tunisia also provides specialized rehabilitation and treatment centres funded by the government, providing much needed rehabilitation and physical therapy services to older persons for little or no fees.clxiii Likewise, the government of Kuwait implements a health program for the care of the elderly at home, where they receive health services free of charge.clxiv
There are numerous examples of care provided by trained staff and volunteers of nongovernmental organizations. As a part of the Tunisian governmental policy to support the elderly, and facilitate their access to social and medical services within their home environment, the Tunisian Union of Social Solidarity dispatches mobile teams of doctors, paramedics, and social workers to rural areas to assist senior citizens by providing free services.clxv In Egypt, Regular Medical Caravans provide free medical consultation and services - including surgeries - at homes in rural areas.clxvi Experts from the ranks of trained medical professions, which are otherwise part of the advanced level of health-care services, also help to build up the capacity of competent civil society groups that provide services to the elderly. For instance, the Elderly Health and Social Care Center – Hilwan University, provides additional free or inexpensive health services to the elderly, and also contributes to the advancement of geriatric medicine.clxvii
Pro bono medical services are provided by major medical schools in Egypt, which focus on older persons, in particular the poor elderly. This initiative offers opportunities for the medical and academic communities to improve their practical knowledge, as well as engage society through soliciting donations and support for elderly care; and thus, also raise public awareness of the needs of older persons. clxviii Another program, “Loving by Caring" provides training to young professionals that work with older persons and attend to their special medical needs. clxix The elderly in the Occupied Palestinian Territories also rely heavily on civil society efforts for the provision of medical services.clxx In Algeria, the professionals in geriatric medical services recommended the establishment of Geriatric Day Care Centers, especially in rural areas, so that the elderly can receive the health care they need without being removed from their home environment, as this impediment could otherwise worsen their conditions.clxxi
4. Empowerment of Older Women
Arab Countries
In the Arab region, few initiatives to benefit older women have been implemented by civil society. In Mauritania, The Grandmother Project in Nouakchott (2007) cxc represents an example of cooperation between foreign organizations and local women at the grassroots level. The project empowers grandmothers to participate in nutrition education activities in urban slums of Nouakchott, and in southern Mauritania. The project also enhances the intergenerational interaction and transfer of knowledge and experience from older women to younger women.cxci In Djibouti, the Community Assessment on Household Roles and Practices Related to Nutrition (2007) cxcii is another effort implemented jointly by the Grandmother Project, UNICEF, and the Ministry of Health to identify key actors in household nutrition and better understand their roles and influence leading to the design of a community grandmother-inclusive nutrition strategy.
رابط[عدل]
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/OlderPersons/Submissions/UNFPA.pdf
