The Founder and Executive Director of the Shepherd Centre for Ageing, Rev. Dr Seth Senyo Agidi, has called for a functional welfare plan of action for the aged since ageing is an inevitable part of life.
He said if the aged were well taken care of, they would live comfortably without stress and not become a burden to society.
Rev. Dr Agidi was speaking at an end-of-year party for a cross-section of the aged in Ho last week.
According to him, government�s intervention policies, including a free bus ride and attendance at hospitals, in the country were positive, and the aged were yet to fully benefit from them.
�Everybody will grow old certainly after having passed through several physiological stages in life,� he said.
Dr Agidi, who is also the moderator-elect of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG), has, therefore, urged stakeholders to recognise ageing and adopt strategies that will champion their welfare.
He also urged the aged to intensify pressure in order to attract the needed attention. He said the aged were most often in crisis because the youth, who were energetic, has left home leaving the aged behind.
Ageing not shameful
The newly appointed Board Chairman of the Shepherd Centre for Ageing, Togbe Kwaku Ayim, said ageing should not be considered a shameful state of life, and as such urged the aged to show up in public.
Togbe Ayim, who is also the Paramount Chief of the Ziavi traditional area, encouraged chiefs and people in authority to insist on the truth in their dealings always, in order to foster the culture of good governance and peace in their communities.
The aged were not only feted, but they were in addition presented with rice, a bottle of cooking oil, toilet rolls, laundry soaps and blankets each.
<<Print>>