Cabinet ensures better life for senior citizens
abu dhabi — The elderly will now be referred to as ‘senior citizens’ in the UAE, with the Cabinet approving a national policy to improve their quality of life and ensure their participation in community development.
A basic health cover for the senior citizens, a hotline to report abuses, programmes to boost skills, special houses to suit their needs and discounts on public transport fares are among the several schemes announced as part of the policy.
While chairing the Cabinet on Sunday, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said: “Our seniors are the youth, whose giving never runs out. Your comfort, wellbeing, stability and quality of life are a national and humanitarian duty.”
The national policy includes seven main components: Healthcare, community involvement and active life, effective civic participation, infrastructure and transportation, financial stability, safety and security, and quality of future life. —
abu dhabi — Giving back to senior citizens and ensuring that they live a modest, comfortable life are the key themes of the new UAE policy.
The UAE Cabinet has approved the National Policy for Senior Emiratis, a policy that falls in line with UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial Strategy 2071.
“We adopted the National Policy for Senior Emiratis to improve the quality of their lives and ensure their active and ongoing participation within the UAE community,” said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
It is a policy that has been created with the directions of the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, reflecting the government’s national agenda that caters to all segments of society.
“We cannot realise family and society coherence unless we guarantee a modest life to them,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
Based on an integrated care system, the National Policy for Senior Emiratis ensures that seniors remain active and are provided access to government services. It includes seven main components: healthcare, community involvement and active life, effective civic participation, infrastructure and transportation, financial stability, safety and security, and quality of future life.
Policy’s components
The healthcare component focuses on the precautionary measures that ensure the safety and rights of senior citizens. It includes a number of initiatives, such as a training programme for healthcare providers and coordinating with the local bodies and private sector to provide basic health cover to senior citizens across the country.
The community involvement and active life segment aims at forming innovative channels to facilitate knowledge-sharing across generations. It also includes initiatives like organising training courses to boost the elderly’s skills and support them in using the latest technologies
through social development and cultural centres in the country.
Effective civic participation bolsters an active life-supporting environment for the seniors. It includes initiatives such as launching programmes to encourage retired Emiratis to share their expertise with business owners or educational institutions.
For infrastructure and transportation, projects aim to encourage joint work in providing competitive services in housing and infrastructure in various fields.
The financial stability segment provides the necessary information that would help ensure that the senior Emirati citizens are financially stable. This component
includes initiatives to invite local institutions to support leading projects and offer facilities for the senior Emirati citizens.
The safety and security component safeguards the senior citizens by launching a training programme that looks into any violence or abuse against seniors and protects them from being exposed to mistreatment.
A hotline is established to guarantee that their voice will reach the concerned authorities promptly.
The quality of future life aims to provide senior citizens with means of comfort, convenience, and modest life through a number of initiatives, such as special discounts on public transport fares.