NATIONAL MACHINERIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BRASILIA DECLARATION A AN OVERVIEW ON THE MAIN ADVANCES IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION.

NATIONAL MACHINERIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BRASILIA

DECLARATIONA

AN OVERVIEW ON THE MAIN ADVANCES IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BRASILIA DECLARATION,

AND IDENTIFYING KEY ACTIONS

Jennifer Rouse (Ph.D.)

Director, Division of Ageing

Ministry of the People and Social Development

Third Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Ageing in Latin America and the Caribbean

Held in San Jose, Costa Rica

8 - 11 May, 2012

Research

Research Unit within the Division of Ageing:

Evaluates programmes of the Division Maintains databases on newspaper articles &

Centenarians Examines socio-demographic trends Supports researchers through its Reference Library &

sample frames – survey of living conditions of seniors in T’go

Provides templates on needs assessments & proposal writing for NGOs, CBOs, FBOs in establishing Homes & care facilities for seniors

Research (cont’d)

In 2009, presentation at CARAIFA’s 21st Sales Congress in Tobago on “Tsunami – Demographic trends and their financial implications”

In 2010, research paper at WASD 8th Int’l Conference in St. Lucia on “The Dynamics & Consequences of Population Ageing in T&T: A call for responsible planning for sustainable development” was included in the curriculum for the CAPE students (equivalent to Freshman level)

In 2011, comprehensive paper submitted to the UN as the gov’t response to the “Realization of the Right to Health of Older Persons”

Midterm research project/paper of the Social Gerontology course at the University of the West Indies – the best are submitted to CHRC for prizes/publication

The annual Senior Citizens Parliament debates televised motions which are researched by the participants

Human Resource Training

The UWI Faculty of Medical Sciences introduced MSc programme in Palliative Care in collaboration with the Palliative Care Division of the University of Toronto

Retirement Planning Seminars are hosted by public/private sectors

Min. of Health est. Health Sector Human Resource Planning & Dev. Unit to develop 10-yr Manpower Plan, build sustained cadre of HR for Health, & recruit specialized foreign nurses/medical doctors

Min. of Comm. Dev. commissioned Graduate School of Business to design programme in leadership for community officers who engage in customer service roles with the elderly, youth & NGOs

TTRNA – careers in nursing and geriatric care services in schools Sensitization seminars conducted by DOA for Social Welfare

Mgrs & Supvrs to enhance customer service toward the elderly/indigent

National Policy on Persons with Disabilities – launched in 2006 to address disability/infirm elders from a human rights perspective

National Policy on Ageing – launched in 2007 with 12 priority areas of action to guide/frame Nat’l Plan of Action on Ageing

Draft National Gender Policy – being finalized re: role of women in care-giving & health economic issues of older women

National Policy on the Family – being formulated to address elderly in context of the family

Utilities Assistance Policy – launched in 2011 to provide reduced water/electricity rates for the poor, elderly and disabled

Public Policies

Legal Protection

Proclamation signed by POS City Mayor in observance of WEAAD

Significant number of women could be left out of pension schemes due to over-representation in the informal sector

Ageism and mandatory retirement age of 60-65 yrs fosters social exclusion – trade unions collaborating with DOA

Elderly not recognized as a group under the Constitution of T&T, but have the same protection as all other citizens

Age-friendly health centres established by Ministry of Health Homes for Older Persons legislation to control, monitor &

regulate Homes and care facilities for the aged awaits proclamation

Omnibus legislation required to protect elderly in the community

Key Actions (for next 5 yrs)

Explore intergenerational approaches such as volunteerism for school-aged children at Homes and care facilities for the elderly; & training in homecare services for the able-bodied “young-old”

Expansion of the Division of Ageing competencies & branding Unit

Use of novel/diverse cultural approaches such as folklore in public education campaign to promote positive imaging of ageing

Promote strengthening of family care to highlight the impact of changing family structures on the elderly

Accreditation and standardization of care-giving training courses at local/regional educational institutions

Institutional strengthening of agencies impacting the ageing population via training, legislative enforcement, and deployment of financial, human and material resources for discharge

Key Actions (cont’d)

Advocacy through community caravans & expert panel discussions to include older persons/ageing issues in parallel policy initiatives

Mandate small & medium-sized NGOs to participate in free courses in marketing, technical writing, computer literacy, accounts

Establishment of Policy Implementation Unit (combine the resources of research/project mgmt/M&E) in DOA to serve as a “think-tank”

More collaborative response to elder abuse cases reported via hotline between DOA & T&T Coalition against Domestic Violence

Revamping of the Senior Citizens Bureau to utilize skills/expertise of older persons via website/online database managed by NGO, to link seniors with local & CSME employment opportunities

Key Actions (cont’d)

Establishment of model Assisted Living Facility (returning migrants) to be built in north, south & central Trinidad between the years 2015 and 2017

Establishment of Residential Long-term Care Facilities

Establish an Elderly and Disabled Mobile Transport (ELDAMO)

Establish Adult Day Care Services Programme to meet demand

Challenges

Other competing social issues on the national agenda such as crime, poverty, narco-trafficking & HIV/AIDS

Recruitment of staff difficult due to inadequate remuneration pkgs

Dearth of research institutions results in tardy & inaccurate data CSO is beset with lack of funding, inadequate staffing/resources Single source of demographic data is Population/Housing Census

every 10 yrs, thus creating “structural lag” in ageing response Resultant over-reliance on foreign data sources which

approximate trends & lack cultural determinism Insufficient networking between line Ministries – “silo syndrome” The “graying” of the national budget to approx. 4% of GDP

Conclusion

Research/M&E must be the driver of programmes

NPAA to mainstream ageing across national policies

Advocacy with interest groups to ensure buy-in Branding of the Division of Ageing Older persons must be seen as a resource

instead of a burden on state resources Intergenerational approaches must be culture-

sensitive to capture plurality of T&T

THANK THANK YOU!YOU!