Nairobi – Policymakers should incorporate the concerns and aspirations of senior citizens during implementation of national programs that seeks to empower people living with disabilities, Kenyan campaigners said on Monday.
Talal Waheed, the Africa Regional Inclusion Advisor at HelpAge International, said the campaigners noted that elderly people with various forms of physical impairments were likely to suffer from severe forms of discrimination and abuse hence the need to avail them adequate social protection.
“Women, men and children with disabilities across all age groups face systematic neglect throughout their life course in various developing countries including Kenya,” Waheed said.
“When age and gender intersect with disability, the vulnerability of persons with disabilities is multiplied,” he added.
Kenya will be co-hosting the Global Disability Summit to be held in London on Tuesday with the British government and the International Disability Alliance to help spotlight the plight of people living with physical and mental impairments.
He urged governments and multilateral lenders to allocate more resources towards uplifting the living standards of older and disabled persons.
Kenyan advocates are hoping the Global Disability Summit will come up with a new roadmap to advance the welfare of physically challenged senior citizens.
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