Uganda turns attention to older persons in a bid to tackle gaps
The commemoration will be held virtually at State House Entebbe and will be transmitted through media platforms across the country.
The Minister of State for Elderly Affairs, Hon. Jacqueline Mbabazi, addressing the press at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala. (Photo by Nickson Turyahikayo)
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President Yoweri Museveni is Thursday (October 1) expected to preside over Uganda’s national celebrations of the International Day of Older Persons.
The commemoration will be held virtually at State House Entebbe and will be transmitted through media platforms across the country.
It is themed around ageing with dignity and strengthening care and support systems, as Uganda turns its attention to the growing needs of the elderly population and the systems required to support them.
The day recognises the contribution of older persons to national development, raises awareness about their rights and needs and assesses progress in improving their welfare.
According to the 2024 National Population and Housing Census, Uganda has about 2.3 million people aged 60 years and above, representing about five per cent of the population.
The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development projects the number to have increased to about 2.6 million by 2026.
She also said Uganda still faces significant gaps in supporting older persons. For instance, only about 7% of older persons have access to formal social security while about 99.5% have no form of health insurance.
Older persons also face disproportionately high healthcare costs, with beneficiaries of the Senior Citizens Grant spending more than 30 per cent of their allowances on health.w
Uganda also has limited specialised personnel for elderly care. According to the gender ministry, the country has only one government geriatrician and four social gerontologists serving about 2.6 million older persons.
The desire is to have all regional referral hospitals with geriatricians and every district with a social gerontologist to strengthen professional care and support for older people.
This year's commemoration will also highlight the role families continue to play in caring for older persons amid changing family structures, rural-urban migration, economic pressures and changing lifestyles.
Government says families should remain at the centre of caring for older people, while public institutions strengthen systems for elderly people who are frail, isolated or without family support.
During the 2025/26 financial year, government paid the grant to 318,649 older persons, mainly those aged above 80 years. Government is also implementing the Special Enterprise Grant for Older Persons, which targets people aged 60 to 79 who can engage in productive activities and income-generating projects.
The programme, launched in the 2022/23 financial year, provides groups of five to 10 older persons with up to sh5 million. The gender ministry says more than 2,948 groups, representing 18,631 individuals, have benefited so far.
The ministry, however, says older persons continue to face discrimination in accessing economic programmes, including the Parish Development Model, with their participation reportedly standing at about 3% despite a government allocation of 10%.
There are also concerns over abuse of older persons, including neglect, physical and emotional abuse, financial exploitation and land and property grabbing.
The ministry says 82% of reported perpetrators of elder abuse are relatives of older persons, highlighting the need for stronger family protection and legal mechanisms.
With this in mind, the government is developing an elder-abuse reduction programme aimed at strengthening reporting, referral and coordination among institutions responsible for protecting older persons.
Health facilities are urged to introduce age-responsive services and police and justice institutions to strengthen protection of older persons from violence, abuse and loss of property.