Senior citizens mark Pchum Ben at a pagoda in Chroy Changvar district’s Koh Dach commune in Phnom Penh. Hong Menea
The government and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation are disseminating the National Strategic Plan for the Elderly 2017-2023 to promote and improve the wellbeing of Cambodia’s senior citizens.
Ministry spokesman Touch Channy said: “We are currently implementing the plan to protect the elderly. The ministry is also seeking more support from other partners for a successful implementation of the plan because it needs various resources.
“We are considering assisting the elderly and taking better care of their wellbeing. The government and the ministry are already doing as much as we can to care for Cambodian senior citizens,” he said.
Through a directive on “Celebration of the National Day of Older Persons and the International Day for Older Persons” which was announced on Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the government was taking great care of the elderly.
The government had set up the National Committee for the Elderly to formulate policies on promoting their wellbeing and implementing them. The committee is also responsible for commemorating the National Day of Older Persons, which falls on October 1 every year, he said.
Hun Sen instructed all relevant ministries, institutions and sub-national level administrations to celebrate the National Day of Older Persons across the Kingdom.
“Celebrating the day serves to promote and improve the wellbeing of the elderly. It also highlights the role that the elderly and our ancestors have played to develop useful resources and impart valuable knowledge, know-how and experiences to the younger generation.
“The government regards the National Day of Older Persons as a commemoration of the contributions made by older Cambodians such as our ancestors, grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles. They built a strong foundation for the following generations to inherit,” he said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Planning last year estimated that Cambodia had 1.3 million senior citizens, accounting for 8.3 per cent of the total population. This number had been predicted to rise to 11 per cent in 2030, Channy said.
The organisations, associations and the networks for the Cambodian elderly requested that the government provide more support for their wellbeing and a budget for the Cambodian elderly.
Eighteen stakeholders from senior citizen associations and networks submitted a joint letter of appeal to the government on Monday, requesting for better financial and welfare support.
Together with the letter was a report entitled The need and the challenges of elderly people in Cambodia, which was based on a survey carried out in cooperation with the National Institute of Social Affairs and stakeholders.
The survey was conducted in five provinces – Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap, Pursat, and Kampong Thom at the end of last year. It said that healthcare and financial wellbeing remain the main challenges facing older women and elderly people with special needs.
The report suggested that the country needed to focus on three issues – financial support for elderly people of 75 years and above, issuing humanitarian cards and registering elderly people with the National Social Security Fund.
HelpAge Cambodia communication and advocacy manager Von Bunret said nearly 16,000 members from his organisation and elderly people networks were to organise activities to celebrate the National Day of Older Persons on Tuesday in the abovementioned five provinces.
“The senior citizen associations will gather together to celebrate this special day, which is crucial as a show of support to Cambodian elderly people,” Bunret said.
