Government Innovations Not Yet Developed

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JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Elderly care programs in Indonesia are still mostly carried out as part of a charity and performed on a temporary basis. Such a method only makes the elderly become increasingly helpless.

No meaningful efforts have so far been taken to anticipate the current and future problems of old people; whose population continues to increase. The existing program mostly still sees the elderly as beneficiaries of aid – which is extended out of pity.

Most of the programs run by both the central and regional governments are mostly in the form of food provisions, health insurance and shelters for abandoned elderly.

"In addition to burdening the government, the pattern does not empower the elderly, especially those who can still be productive," the executive director of the regional autonomy implementation monitoring committee, Robert Na Endi Jaweng, said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Various charity programs are easy to find in many areas. Every day in Surabaya, East Java, for example, 20,000 elderly people receive free food. The program is given to elderly people who depend on others to support their life, to prevent them from becoming street beggars to meet their daily needs.

In Banyuwangi, almost 5,000 elderly get services at the Blambangan general hospital without having to line up. There is also a charity program that provides free food to the needy elderly.

"We are old. If we have to wait for a long time in the hospital, instead of getting healthier, we will get sick,” said Hoetomo Seokarto, 80, a resident of Singotrunan, Banyuwangi.

While in the city of Yogyakarta, there are programs to provide nutritional food and special health services for the elderly. Purwoyono, 64 and Wasilah, 84, two residents of Gedongkiwo subdistrict, hope that the program is carried out every month.

Efforts to accommodate abandoned elderly are also carried out by a number of local governments. However, the holding capacity of shelters is still far from sufficient. Of course, there is nothing wrong with charity programs for the elderly. The low education and health level they received from infancy means that some elderly people need such programs.

However, as the number of elderly people continues to increase and improvements in the quality of health and welfare increases, the charity programs that are mostly carried out on a temporary basis is no longer enough. Productive older people need to be trained and empowered to remain independent.

"Empowering the elderly to be resilient and productive can extend the period of the demographic dividend, reduce the burden of the people of productive age and help add to the nation\'s income," said the deputy for family empowerment at the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), M Yani.

A number of local governments have initiated innovative programs for the elderly. For example, the elderly in Surabaya are employed to clear traffic signs. In several parts in Central Java, a number of old people join batik training and make doormats.

In Surabaya, the city administration holds a special meeting for the elderly once a month at a subdistrict hall to give them the opportunity to so socialize with others. Old people can also check their health during the monthly meeting.

While in Yogyakarta, the administration holds joint social activities for the elderly, ranging from learning to grow crops to gymnastics and playing music.

"Social activities are important because many elderly people are lonely as they are left by their children," said the head of the Yogyakarta social services, Untung Sukaryadi.

Public facility

A number of regions have also begun to provide elderly-friendly public facilities, such as ramps or sloping floors in health centers and government offices and a public park specially built for the elderly. However, elderly-friendly public transportation has become a big problem in many areas.

Programs that have not done much to empower the elderly are providing job training or creating job opportunities that are suitable for the elderly. In a number of countries, the elderly is encouraged to form small-and medium-sized businesses that work on the products of large companies both in the garment and automotive industries.

In Indonesia, efforts to provide productive training are focused on the youth and productive age population. It is still widely believed that providing employment opportunities for the elderly means reducing job opportunities for productive residents.

Yani acknowledged that there was no synchronization between the program taken by the central and regional governments in implementing programs for the elderly. The awareness that investment in taking care of and empowering the elderly is as important as investment in programs for children and productive populations has not yet been established.

"The private sector, families and communities need to care about the elderly," he said.

Their attention affects the well-being of the elderly. Their involvement is important in the midst of declining respect for the elderly. The effort to build a shared concern for the elderly is expected to be more sustainable after the national humanitarian sustainability strategy is signed by the President.

The director of population planning and social protection of the National Development Planning Ministry/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Maliki, hopes that the strategy will improve through cross-sectoral coordination in dealing with the elderly.

(DAN/BOW/OKA/ETA/SYA/NCA/HRS/DIT/GER/SON/MZW)

Editor:

naranasrullah

kompascetak elderly care public facility