Population Ageing, the Rights of Older Persons & the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Promoting Independent Living, Social Participation and Eliminating Discrimination against Older Persons Jennifer A. Rouse (Ph.D.) Director, Division of Ageing Ministry of the People & Social Development The Caribbean Forum on Population, Migration and Development held in Georgetown, Guyana July 9-10, 2013

Introduction  T&T’s older persons (i.e., aged 60 yrs and over) represent 13.4% or 177,000 of the total population, of which 9% are over 65 yrs (CSO, 2011)  The elderly population is projected to be 17.7% in 2025 and expected to increase to 30.1% in 2050  Economic indicators reveal that institutional arrangements are untenable to bear this exponential growth rate of seniors  A proactive approach is needed to address the challenge of population ageing  Increasing number of nonagenarians & centenarians

Promoting Independent Living  Continuum of Health & Social Support Services for Older Persons – e.g. Senior Centres & ELDAMO Shuttle  Targeted Conditional Cash Transfer Programme  Direct Deposit for pension payments  Social Welfare Grants  Retirement Planning Seminars  Reverse mortgage vs multigenerational households  Homecare services – e.g. GAPP  Micro Enterprise Grants & Loans  Model Assisted Living Facility & Adult Daycare Services

Promoting Social Participation  Annual Public Open Forum for Older Persons  Annual Senior Citizens Parliament  Commemorating International Day of Older Persons  Formulation of National Plan of Action on Ageing  Senior Social Events  Masters Track & Field  Retirees Associations  Senior Citizens Bureau  Intergenerational conversations & Mentoring programs  Partnerships with religious organizations & private sector

Eliminating Discrimination  National Policy on Ageing  Legislation on Homes for Older Persons for proclamation  Human Rights Seminars  Commemorating World Elder Abuse Awareness Day  Formulation of Omnibus legislation for the elderly  The Constitution accords universal rights to all citizens of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago of which the elderly populace are a meaningful part  Advocacy for male caregivers & users of senior centres

Challenges  Other competing social issues on the national agenda such as crime, poverty, narco-trafficking & HIV/AIDS  Recruitment of competent staff due high turnover  Insufficient networking between line Ministries & THA  Single source of demographic data every 10 years  Inordinate delay in the proclamation of legislation on Homes due to changes in political directorate  Retirement of senior public officers compromises institutional memory due lack of succession planning  Increased demand in homecare services vs dearth of caregivers trained in geriatric care

Recommendations  Promote intergenerational volunteerism  Promote positive image of ageing to counter ageism  Include gerontology & geriatric care as degree programs offered in the region  Promote strengthening of family care through media prgs  Coordinated approach to treat with elder abuse cases  Include “young old” among trained caregivers  Establishment of Policy Implementation Unit (combine the resources of research/project mgmt/M&E) in DOA  Branding of the Division of Ageing

Conclusion  Research and M&E must be the drivers of programmes  NPAA to mainstream ageing across national policies  Advocacy with interest groups to ensure buy-in  Older persons must be acknowledged as a resource instead of a burden on state resources  Intergenerational approaches must be culture-sensitive to capture plurality of T&T  Omnibus legislation required to protect the elderly who reside in communities