Tanzania prepares regulations to compel children to take care of their ageing parents

Morogoro. The government is preparing regulations to compel children to carter for the needs of their ageing parents, it has been revealed.

It said the move was part of government efforts to ensure that older live longer and healthier

That was said Dr Edwin Mng'ong'o, from the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, during the launch of a meeting for Age-friendly Health services stakeholders on Wednesday.

"We are drafting regulations to compel children to make sure that they take care of their ageing parents because some of them do not do so," said he.

"How an older people, who had raised, say, nine children live poorly?"

 He also outlined other measures, which the government had taken to ensuring that older people live healthily.

According to him, Tanzania has 2.6 million elder people, and 1.6 million of them have been provided with identification cards to receive health care services free of charge.

He also revealed that more than 500,000 elder people had been enrolled in the Community Health Fund.

Dr Mng'ong'o further said 799 councils for the elderly had been formed across Tanzania.

Through such outfits, coordinated by district councils, the elderly meet at least once a month to discuss their challenges and propose solutions.

The coordinator for the elderly in Ministry of State in the President's Office (Regional Administration and Local Authorities), Mr Shaban Mhali, warned district and municipal councils against failure to set up councils for the elderly.

One elderly person, who attended the meeting, Mzee Khamis Juma, spoke of challenges. “You might go to hospital and receive treatment, but when you go back home you find nothing to eat."

He also said Tanzania had the shortage of skilled health personnel for the elderly.