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National Commission for the Elderly active again
Newly appointed NCE Chairman, Clyde De Haas.
Kaieteur News – Guyana’s National Commission for the Elderly (NCE) which falls under the Ministry of Human Services and Social Protection is active again. This was announced in a statement issued by the Ministry.
The Commission serves to coordinate the planning and development of various programmes and services for elderly persons in Guyana, as well as recommend priorities for implementation in regards to manpower, financial and other resources available. A new board and Chairman have been appointed and plans are already underway to tackle issues affecting senior citizens in the country.
Members of the Commission are Claudette Foo; Yvonne Yearwood; Fayne Ramsarran Boodhoo; Wendell Roberts; Seeranie Persaud; Zaheeda Hack; Patrick Findlay; Yvonne Pearson; Dr. Pedro Pons, Representative of the Ministry of Health, and Ricardo Banwarie of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, the Ex-Officio Member/Secretary. Its Chairman is Clyde De Haas who also serves as the Managing Director of Unicomer Guyana.
The Chairman told this publication that the Commission has already outlined a plan for the first 100 days which includes conducting an inventory of the urgent needs and challenges of the elderly and institutions dealing with the elderly. These challenges may be situations, which they are confronted with daily and it was also stated that the Commission will identify the opportunities that may exist in those areas.
The inventory will be done by engaging with all stakeholders through consultations and surveys and the resulting feedback will provide a basis for further policy formulation, action plans and recommendations that will be given to the Minister of Human Services and Social Protection, Dr. Vindhya Persaud.
The Chairman said that some of the issues that the elderly are currently facing include nutritional deficiencies and malnutrition, isolation, physical conditions in care institutions, and “disproportionate” COVID-19 mortality rates. According to the Chairman, these areas will be examined.
Minister Persaud has already met with the board via a virtual meeting last Thursday, where she congratulated De Haas and the other members of the Board. The Minister also stressed that they should be “passionate advocates for the elderly, and ensure their rights are protected.”
The Chairman disclosed that the Commission of the Elderly saw its genesis in the year 1996, with its predecessor body known as the Senior Citizen’s Policy Committee. It was later established as the National Commission of the Elderly in June 2012 under the PPP administration.
Kaieteur News understands that for a while, the Commission had not been active, but with the new board in place, it will be working assiduously to tackle issues that occurred during that hiatus.
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