The National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC) says it is working with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to mainstream geriatric care into primary care for older persons in the country.

NSCC Director General, Dr Emem Omokaro, said in an interview in New York that the Centre would also collaborate with the NPHCDA to train community healthcare and social workers.

Mrs Omokaro said the initiative would assist Nigeria to have strong partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) so that the UN health agency can support integrated care for older people.

“We are working with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency to introduce geriatric care in primary care and to train those community health care workers, in care, social care so that they can take social care into communities.

“We have technical partnership with WHO. WHO is supporting the mainstreaming of Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE); this is a framework that is supporting older citizens to age in their place.

“You don’t have to go into an institution. Culturally, we are not oriented like that. What we are focusing on is ageing in friendly environment.

“How do we train caregivers to go to the older person, how do we improve referrals, then transportation and those social determinants so it is sector wide,’’ she said.

She added that the Centre would be working with UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) to develop a long-term care system for older citizens in Nigeria.

“We want to be able to standardise training of caregivers. So, we want to certify competency certification and we’re working very closely with UN to bring expert group as well.

“That’s what we’re working on portal for registration of care agencies as well as caregivers,’’ the director-general said.

Mrs Omokaro said Nigeria do not have the culture of keeping the elderly in old people’s home, noting that the Centre has been working on how to improve referrals for them.

“NSCC, established by law is compelling those partnerships and you know that Nigeria runs a federal system so issues of health are on the concurrent list.

“So, we’re working very closely with Executive Secretaries of Primary Health Care Development Agencies both at the Federal level and states and are piloting mainstream geriatric care in the FCT and Adamawa,’’ she said.

The NSCC boss said Nigeria had been encouraging ageing in place, which according to her, means older citizens staying in their familiar environment, saying, “it takes a lot to stay in your familiar environment.

“What about a situation of taking care of older person with dementia? What about those that have need for long term protracted care?  Should you have need for palliative care?

“Should they fall into this situation where the family are not professionally equipped to handle care but instead of handling them out of love, then it becomes a case of abuse.

“So, what we’re saying is that we will work to develop a long-term care system that is integrated. Integrated in the sense that you have this basket, whatever your need is there.’’

For instance, she said NSCC could not say no to building of facilities when it knows that the incidence of dementia has been increasing and that the disease needs 24/7 care, and it should be cared for by professionals.

“What NSCC is focusing on is to ensure that we register agencies and ensure that they are licensed and insured that we have monitoring evaluation inspections in place to ensure training curriculum and retraining is there.’’

According to her, the facilities will be standarised and Nigerians can put their older persons there out of love and they will receive best care.

She said that NSCC wanted to put these alternatives on ground depending on the case, adding that it encourages strengthening families and equipping them with the tools they need, and making care accessible, affordable and appropriate.

“We are signing an MoU with the Ministry of Health and working with other key agencies to achieve these; because they are going to facilitate that expert group meeting and license caregivers and social workers to work in the facilities.’’

In addition, Mrs Omokaro said before the establishment of NSCC, the federal government had in 2020 inaugurated a ministerial committee to develop a framework for the provision of health insurance for retirees and the elderly in Nigeria.

“I was a member of that Committee, we have submitted the report, and the President signed a bill into law which sees older people among the vulnerable people that shouldn’t be covered under the Universal Health Insurance coverage,’’ she said. 

(NAN)