NHRC discusses welfare of elderly with global experts

New Delhi, Dec 19: Suggestions on healthcare and nutritional needs of the elderly and their economic security, social inclusion, and quality of life from experts from the WHO, among others, dominated the agenda at a seminar organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday.

Addressing the inaugural session, NHRC, Secretary General, Bharat Lal spoke about the evolving role of old age homes and the necessity for change and improvement in their functioning, a statement said.

Chairing the first thematic session on the health and nutrition needs of the elderly, Dr V. K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, while sharing the concerns on the present and future challenges related to the well-being of the ageing population, commended the NHRC, India for its various initiatives in this regard.

Amit Yadav, Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, chaired the second thematic session on economic security, social inclusion, and quality of life.

Several domain experts and eminent people, representatives of NGOs, academia, researchers, startups and medical fraternity attended the meet. After the speakers in each session, an open house was held to discuss the questions from the participants from various sectors including the WHO, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Tata Trusts.

The seminar ‘Ageing in India: Actionable Solutions - Drawing insights from Global, Regional, and National Best Practices’ was organised by the NHRC, in partnership with Sankala Foundation, along with the active participation of NITI Aayog and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Earlier, NHRC, Secretary General, Bharat Lal emphasised that the Commission is working closely with civil society organisations, Special Rapporteurs and Monitors and human rights defenders to assess and advocate for elderly rights.

He said that it is time to work on an action-oriented model including the best practices for replication for the overall welfare of the elderly population in the country. He urged for synergy among all organisations and said that an effort was on to develop a platform to provide elderly individuals with opportunities to engage and contribute to society, meaningfully.