Angel Valdes | December 29, 2022
In an interview with Radio Panama, the National Coordinator for the Elderly of the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES), Irasema Rosas de Ahumada gave details of the work that has been carried out in programs to support the elderly in different parts of our country.
“We at Mides have worked on the social agenda not only for children and young people but also for the elderly, updating all the legal regulations that regulate the issue in our country, such as Law 36 of 2016, which was outdated and needed to be updated. the concepts in the subject of the elderly and also in the integral rights of the elderly, this is a modern and unique instrument in the region that allows establishing the guidelines of the social policy towards the elderly and giving it a range where the states feel committed to the elderly” said Rosas.
There is a demographic change at a global level and Panama does not escape this reality. The population is in a moment of transition and currently 12% of the total population are people over 60 years of age and onwards, it is expected that in 2025 it will be of a 14% and by the year 2050 we will probably have a population that for every 4 births there will be an older person, that means that we are late in the care agenda for the elderly.
Regarding the homes for the elderly that are in different parts of the country, Rosas indicated that work is being done so that all of them are duly legalized “the technical staff of Mides, together with the Ministry of Health and the fire department and Sinaproc We supervise the homes for adults for three months and we work so that they are duly legalized. We already have more than 60% of the homes for adults duly legalized and we continue in meetings with those who are pending to see what situation they are in so that no later than March 2023 they are all duly legalized”. It is expected that in the next year the reform of Law 36 will be made in the National Assembly where the National Institute for the Elderly is formally established.
