"We Celebrate Life" - Marking 1. October, the International day for older persons
Older persons needs to be given more attention and improve their position in society, it was said at the gathering called "Celebrating life" held in Sarajevo as part of the celebration of October 1, the International Day of Older persons.
The “We Celebrate Life” meeting, organized by Hilfswerk International in partnership with the Association for Help and Development HAJDE, with the aim of improving the position of the older people in the countries of the Balkan region, gathered representatives of institutions that provide services to this category of population, as well as service users.
Hilfswerk international Regional director for the Balkans - Suzana Jašarević pointed out that one of the goals of min goals is to draw attention to the position of the older persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to point out the possibilities of improving their position.
"We are working to ensure that, in terms of human rights and the position of vulnerable categories of residents, care is provided in the right way through institutions which provide support for the older persons. Bosnia and Herzegovina is quite a pioneer in the number and representatives of older population. The project House of Support – Services for dignified life of elderly in BiH which started almost three years ago, was supported by many municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the main goal to indicate importance and enable the older perons to leave their homes and socialize".
As she said, a particularly common phenomen in the countries of the Balkan region is discrimination against older people in terms of age.
"Age should not be a reason for that, on the contrary, because people with their specific rights to live, work and socialize needs to have all services available. Especially when we know that research shows that by 2050 there will be 40 percent of people over 65 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it is similar to the other countries in the region and European Union, that is a certain trend," said Jašarević, and emphasized tahta, therefore, it is very important to improve health services as well as living conditions for this category of population in order to ensure a better life.
Jasmina Fazlić, assistant to the head for veterans-disabled protection, social protection and social activities of the Municipality of Centar in Sarajevo, said that they have been implementing projects with the organization "Hilfswerk international" in the field of healthy aging for years.
Municipality of Centar have more and more older persons who cannot take care of themselves because they are sick and exhausted, and in another hand those who could provide needed help, mostly young people, who are leaving in increasing numbers outside the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That was a big challenge for the Municipality of Centar; how to provide support to our residents. Most needs come down to the home care which is everyday services, from going to the pharmacy, measuring blood sugar, blood pressure, etc." said Fazlić.
The International Day of Older Persons was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 14, 1990, to emphasize the importance of providing an environment that can be adapted to the needs and abilities of the elderly.
By proclaiming the International Day of the Elderly, we want to encourage states to ensure that their needs are met and enable them to participate in society in accordance with their physical and intellectual abilities. The International Day of Older Persons has been celebrated since 1991 every year on October 1.
