OUR FOCUS AREAS
These includes Violence and abuse, Health & Care,Income & Security, Voiceand many more
Violence and abuse
The abuse of older persons remains a taboo in Malawi. It often happens inconspicuously and in many cases goes unnoticed. However, evidence shows that it occurs frequently and in all types of settings in our communities. No community can claim to be immune from any of such forms of abuse/discrimination. Elder abuse takes many different forms. Many older persons suffer discrimination in the public sphere, linguistic discrimination, isolation, neglect and financial exploitation. Others face psychological violence, the withholding of basic needs, physical violence or sexual abuse, and the worst of all is the killing of older men and women on various witchcraft related accusations, which often are without basis and evidence. We cannot assume the victims will report what they face. Despite facing abuse such as being physically restrained, left in soiled clothes, over-medicated or emotionally neglected, they may not speak up for fear of reprisals - or to protect family members from criminal prosecution assuming the matter is reported to police..
posted 1 week ago
Health & Care
According to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the overwhelming burden of diseases in older men and women in developing countries is now from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer and long-term issues related to reproductive health in women. The health and care needs of people change as they age and should be addressed across the life course. Additionally, provision of appropriate health and care to children has greater influence on their healthy status as they age. For example, poor nutrition during childhood and adolescence can lead to health complications in older age. Furthermore, patterns of health and disease are also changing in Southern Africa.. More people living with HIV in Malawi are also living into older age due to the availability of ARTs. According to the 2017 statistics from UNAIDS, 60% of all people living with HIV in East and Southern Africa (totaling up to 11.7 million people) were accessing ARTs. However, health systems in the region have not responded to all these changes. In general, older men and women in Southern Africa do not have access to affordable, efficient and age-friendly health services that are equipped to respond to ageing and that address health needs across the life course. In Malawi, older men and women also often have greater difficulty accessing age friendly healthy services due to their physical condition, poverty and limited health awareness.
Posted 1 week ago
Income & Security
As mentioned above, Malawi ranks one of the poorest countries in the world and inequality is also very high. Therefore it is not surprising that poverty among older men and women is high. This is largely due to: lack of appropriate, secure, predictable and regular income; increase in perennial disasters like floods in some districts, breakdown of the family support systems and/or absence of a universal pension scheme. Currently, only Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, and the Seychelles in Southern Africa have universal pension schemes. Lesotho and Swaziland implement near-universal schemes which only exclude beneficiaries of other pension schemes, while South Africa implements an “affluence test” which attempts to exclude older people with significant income and/or assets. Zambia has a pilot universal pension scheme which is being implemented in the Katete district. Mozambique’s PSSB scheme is a cash transfer scheme for “labour constrained households” and the majority of recipients are older persons. Evidence from countries where social pensions exist, show a positive correlation between receipt of pensions and improved health across the household, as well as improved school attendance for children in the households. Addressing what happens to Malawians as they grow old is critical to successfully addressing the wider development challenges facing the nation. The 0.8 million older people aged 60 and above in Malawi today have spent their lives contributing to the development of the nation, and most of them continue to be active in their communities and wider society, as breadwinners, caregivers and also provide invaluable safety net for the Malawian Society by caring for orphans due to the HIV/Aids Pandemic, hence putting additional strain on their already limited resources..
Last updated 1 Week ago
Voice
Older men and women are experiencing ageism – stereotyping, unfair treatment and discrimination based on a person’s age. This can impact a person’s confidence, job prospects, financial situation and quality of life. Older people are regarded as not being useful members of society and are left out of dialogue which directly affects them. The negative attitudes and behavior against older persons make them lose their voice in society.
Last updated 1 week ago
