The cabinet has approved the draft ‘National Policy on Elderly People’ on condition that the law ministry will set the definition of old persons and specify provisions for ensuring facilities for senior citizens.
According to the policy, people aged 60 years or above will be treated as senior citizens.
The approval was given in the regular and last meeting of the cabinet’s present format held at the secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
“The cabinet approved the draft of the policy. It will be sent to the law ministry for vetting. Then the social welfare ministry will make the national policy public,” Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said after the meeting.
In policies of developed countries, people aged 65 years or above are considered as the elderly, while UN policy recognises those who are 60 or above as elderly people, he cited.
“Bangladesh accepted the concept of UN while preparing the National Policy on Older Persons,” the secretary explained. He said the increasing life expectancy in the country is raising the number of elderly people.
He said Bangladesh has already launched allowances and several welfare programmes for old people who are insolvent, and the new policy will add more steps to ensure a responsible and safe atmosphere for senior citizens.
Provisions of the policy include ensuring the dignified, poverty-free, healthy and safe social life for the elderly people; providing them with ID cards, health cards, and reserved seats during their travel in buses, trains, steamers, mono rails and ticketing at reduced rates; establishing old homes; providing health access vouchers, health service cards and savings schemes; and encouraging private initiatives towards ensuring aged persons’ welfare alongside government initiatives.
To monitor the implementation of the policy, the Cabinet Secretary said there would be a national committee headed by the Social Welfare Minister, in addition to various district, upazila, union, pourashava and ward-level committees.
“Some seats of all transports will be kept reserved for elderly people. Old homes will be established and the government will also take initiatives to attract the private sector in this regard,” the cabinet secretary said.
The cabinet also approved a draft of amendments to “International Institute of Mother Language Act” keeping the provision of including a representative of the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in its board.
The initiative has been taken to get technical and training assistance from UNESCO. The amendments will help list the institute as a ‘B’ category organisation of UNESCO and ensure support from the global body.