Kia noho ora tonu ngā kaumātua
Older people deserve to lead valued, connected and fulfilling lives
International Day of Older Persons is celebrated globally and is an important chance to acknowledge the enormous contributions of older people in our communities – as whānau, neighbours, community members, voluntary workers, mentors and advisors. So much of what we enjoy today is underpinned by the lifetime contributions of older people.
This year’s theme – “Ageing with dignity: the importance of strengthening care and support systems for older persons” – is an important one. In Aotearoa New Zealand, there are lots of things we can do to strengthen care and support systems for older people to enable them to contribute to our communities for as long as possible.
Positive ageing is underpinned by health and independence. Health and disability services for older people need to be designed with their needs at the centre, so they can maintain dignity and quality of life. Older people tend to have more chronic health conditions, so they need appropriate care options close to home and they need to be able to move between different levels of care easily.
Strengthening care and support systems for older people means being able to provide culturally safe care and it requires a specialised workforce. Public health measures to delay the onset of health conditions, like dementia mate wareware are needed too. For example, measures like increasing subsidies for hearing aids, could reduce social isolation and the onset of related health conditions.
This International Day of Older Persons I encourage everyone to think about how much they value the older people in their lives and why it’s so important to strengthen the care and support systems for them so that they can continue to lead valued, connected and fulfilling lives contributing to their communities.