COUNCIL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAMBODIA (CDC)


Rights and Care of Older People

(i) Introduction The Khmer Rouge regime destroyed the three institutions responsible for providing care and support for the older people sector namely family, community and religion. The civil war also had a negative impact on the population structure. The 1998 demographic census showed that 5.3 percent of Cambodia’s population was over 60 years old. The age group (35-50) currently responsible for supporting older people however has suffered the highest casualties from two decades of war leaving their surviving parents to live alone in their old age. A decade after the signing of the peace agreement, the already vulnerable older people sector continues to struggle on how to adapt to a rapidly changing market economy and a flood of foreign technology and culture. Despite all the dynamic changes affecting the lives of older people, relatively little attention has been given to the situation of Cambodia’s older people. Older people are generally perceived as helpless and unproductive members of Cambodian society. At the moment, older people cannot rely on any form of state support. Government agencies responsible for providing basic services and protection to the elderly lacked the necessary manpower, facilities and materials resources to effectively respond to the needs and problems of older people. The findings of the 1998 study on the situation of older people in Cambodia revealed that many development programs implemented by government and non-government organizations have excluded older people in their activities due to their old age. Many elderly lacked access to services of credit organizations due to their old age perceived as a big risk for the feasibility of credit programs. One of the most devastating consequences of Cambodia’s long war has been the loss of culture, traditions and awareness of what Cambodian society was like before. Older people have the experience and skills that can help restore what has been lost, but not if they are ignored by the Cambodian society in the rush for modernization and development It is therefore essential that government development policies and services focus on the situation, needs and contributions of older people not only for the sake of the older people themselves but also for the sake of the country as well. (ii) Key Issues and Progress The real threat to the survival and development of older people are not from the past but from the present and future. Due to ignorance on older people issues and lack of human and material resources, development policies and program plans of both government and non-government organizations failed to effectively address the needs and tap the potentials of the older people sector in Cambodia. The government had proclaimed the celebration of October 1 as the International Day for Older Persons and had appointed an Inter-Ministerial Committee to develop a national policy for the social welfare of older people. The Inter-Ministerial Committee is mandated to draft the National Policy on Older People to be submitted to the Council of Ministers who will recommend to the National Assembly for approval. The draft policy is at the final stage of finalization by the Inter-Ministerial Committee. The policy however can only be effective if adequate resources are available to implement it. The government’s strategic five-year plan has included the elderly sector but failed to develop concrete plans and adequate budget to implement it. For the first time in the recent history of Cambodia, Help Age International in collaboration with the Ministry of Social affairs, Labor and Veterans Affairs (MOSALVY) organized a "National Forum on Older People” in September 2001 attended by over 80 elderly representatives from nine provinces with equally diverse and economic backgrounds. Representatives also attended the forum from 12 national and international NGOs and members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee representing 12 government ministries. The objective of the forum was to bring policy makers and the NGO sector face-to-face with the older people, create a better awareness on the issues of the elderly and provide older people with opportunity to express their own collective voice. The conclusion and recommendations from the national forum were presented to the International Forum on Older People in Madrid, Spain in April 2002. The National Forum on Older People strongly called on the government to ensure active participation of older people and the NGO sectors in drafting the national older people policy. One of the highlights of the draft policy is the government’s support to the formation of Older People’s Associations (OPAs) in all provinces in Cambodia. The older people through joint studies and consultations facilitated by HelpAge and MOSALVY have identified the following needs and problems. These issues need urgent attention and intervention by government and non-government organizations in Cambodia. Poverty The older people sector in Cambodia is living hi conditions of poverty, hardship and fear of the future. The declining physical strength of older people implies declining income and quality of life. A number of older people lost their children during two decades of war and therefore have no one to support them, as they grow older. Many surviving children are too poor to support themselves to be able to give adequate support to their parents. Lack of affordable health care services The huge expense of medical cares very often push older people to prioritize the food and livelihood security of their families in favor of their health and medical needs. Food Security Landholdings sufficient to support a family in the 1980’s are no longer sufficient to support the children and their families two decades later. This situation implies decreasing standard of living and food security for older people and their families. Migration Rural poverty and lack of income opportunity forces young people to abandon their parents and children to migrate inside (Phnom Penh and other cities and towns) and outside (Thailand and Vietnam) Cambodia. While some children come back and send money, others disappear, leaving ageing parents to care for small children. HIV/AIDS Cambodia is suffering from a serious AIDS epidemic. In the near future, a large number of young people will become sick and die from HIV/AIDS It is the ageing parents who usually take care of their sick children as well as their orphaned grandchildren. HIV/AIDS will also deprive many older people of children to support them in their old age. Gender Gender issues do not diminish with age. Gender roles and expectations affect older women as much as younger women in terms of respect and access and control of resources and services. Many older women especially suffer from physical and psychological violence inflicted by members of their own immediate families. (iii) Recommendations Policy Formulation The government should facilitate the drafting, approval and implementation of the National Policy on Older People. The government should create adequate budget to support effective policy implementation. The national policy should incorporate the issue of ageing and appropriate support mechanism to bring older people sector back into the mainstream of the government’s social and economic planning. Policies for employment, health, transport and social services should take into account the needs of the elderly. The older people. their families, communities and non-government organizations should be actively involved in research, planning and policy implementation on issues affecting the elderly. Bilateral and multilateral donors should take into account the needs and contributions of older people as a critical element in poverty reduction. Specifically, the policy should include support towards the formation of Older People’s Associations (OPAs) in all provinces of Cambodia, provision of basic health care services for the elderly, prevention and protection of older people against violence and trafficking, the establishment of adequate pension fund for retired civil workers, tax exemptions and subsidized transportation services for the elderly in Cambodia. Participation Older people are a valuable resource, which government and non-government organizations should encourage, and empower to work together as partners in research, planning management and evaluation of development programs. Rural Development Government and NGOs should pursue programs and policies that will reduce rural poverty, foster equitable and geographically dispersed economic development, and increase employment opportunities in the countryside. A successful implementation of an integrated development program in the countryside will increase the capacity of immediate families and communities to care and support for the elderly sector. Health Care Health care reform, with the goal of ensuring competent, accessible and affordable health care are important steps towards improving the lives of older people in Cambodia. Government assistance should focus on community-based care rather than institutional care wherever possible. Community health programs should consider working with older people to spread information and provide follow-up care. Older people’s access to eye care, dental care and prosthesis should be improved. HIV/AIDS The government should encourage research on the impact if HIV/AIDS on the elderly sector in Cambodia, particularly in their role as principal carers of orphans and of adults with HIV/AIDS. The government should prepare the elderly sector towards their important role in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic through education of older people about the nature of HIV/AIDS and how to care for people with HIV/AIDS. The government should consider training traditional healers to become community educators on HIV/AIDS and other public health programs. Gender The government should develop policies that address the particular needs and vulnerabilities of men and women in their old age. The government should address issues resulting from women’s life-long disadvantages in health and nutrition and the prevention and protection of older people, especially women from physical and psychological violence. The government and non-government organizations should take positive steps to ensure that older women are not excluded in development programs. \| Content\| Back \| Top \| Next \|