Recent reports that over 12,000 elderly people had their medical cards ready in Shinyanga district, Shinyanga region, have far-reaching implications, all matters considered.
For starters, Shinyanga region is not known for being too compassionate to the elderly. It is among the leading regions in the country when it comes to arbitrary killings of senior citizens on grounds of superstitious beliefs.
On that score alone, the elderly in the region have been receiving little, if any, care from relatives, including their own children. It has time and again been reported that children have been killing their own parents to expedite inheritance of land and other perceived wealth.
It has been reported that thus far about 3,000 elders have been issued with medical cards and a registration process has already been launched to identify elderly people who qualify to receive free health facilities.
That is encouraging news indeed, but it will not mean much if some senior citizens in the region will still be unable to receive proper medical services. It would defeat the purpose of introducing the scheme in the first place.
At the national level, local authorities have been directed to identify elderly people in their communities so that they may receive free medical services and have their rent paid.
Senior citizens targeted should be at least 60 years of age without any source of income, according to the government directive.
It has been years now since the directive was issued and many elders still complain that whenever they attend medical facilities they get cold treatment and are mostly left to their own devices.
But implementation of the government policy of free medication and treatment for all elders in Tanzania faced serious problems and its success was seen as a pipe dream if efforts were not taken to ensure its realization.
After years of punching walls and bringing down fences by activists and stakeholders, it is encouraging to note that medical cards for the elderly to get free health services are ready for the picking.
Corruption, inadequate infrastructure and improper medical care due to a lack of trained staff have been pointed out as the main challenges in public hospitals.
Elderly persons were asked to pursue free treatment in vulnerable situations because they lack the money to pay for treatment, but they ended up bribing medical staff once they are at the public hospital.
According to estimates, the population of elderly persons in Tanzania above 60 years reached 5,201,000 people by 2015, while the country seemed to have not yet done enough to comply with the number in terms of addressing the basic needs of the special group.
The United Nations demographic forecasts have it that the number of aged persons will triple between 2020 and 2050 in developing countries, urging the governments to work now to improve social services and living standards, such as health services.
The start is good in improvement made to support the lives of elders, but more still has to be done. Elderly citizen also need to receive old age pension and there are too many of them who qualify but the still seems to be soft-pedaling the matter.
We will all age at one point or another with the exception of some form of divine intervention. Policies that aim to improve the welfare of the elderly in the country will benefit all and sundry. The current population of senior citizens and those who will follow in due course is ever increasing.
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