Global Aging Issues
Interview with Hon. Mrs. Sheilabai Bappoo
Minister of Social Securuty, National Solidarity & Senior Citizen Welfare and Reform Institutions, Republic of Mauritius / News Release
April 24, 2007
2007 is the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. AARP International held a series of three briefings in coordination with the U.N. Programme on Ageing, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, to review the status of the Madrid Plan and trends in global aging.
AARP International recently spoke with Hon. Mrs. Sheilabai Bappoo, Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizens Welfare and Reform Institutions of the Republic of Mauritius, about the challenges and opportunities of aging in Africa and Mauritius.
AARP International: This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Adoption of the Madrid United Nations International Plan of Action on Aging, a historic agreement adopted in 2002 that calls upon nations and provide recommendations to change attitudes, policies and practices at all levels and in all sectors of society so that the potential of population aging may be fulfilled. To date, how has the framework been successful during the last five years? Where do you see untapped opportunities for decision makers to include a focus on global aging?
Sheilabai Bappoo: As far as a legislative framework for the elderly is concerned, a Senior Citizens Council has been set up by an act of Parliament in 1985. The main objective of this legislation is to promote the welfare of senior citizens aged 55 and above. This government advisory council has registered more than 600 Senior Citizens Associations.
In line with the Mauritian policy of “putting people first,” the government has set up a residential recreation center for the elderly and the disabled and an empowerment program for entrepreneurs, without discrimination of age and sex, encouraging older persons to join the emerging small and medium enterprises sector.
Mauritius recognizes that education, as a basic human right, must be available without seniors facing discrimination. Our elderly are therefore given the opportunity to pursue continuous learning and training through adult literacy and numeracy programs as well as training in acquiring basic skills in information and communication technology in order to allow them to fully participate in social and community life.
The Mauritius Government, being fully conscious of the problem arising from the generation gap, is also taking proactive measures to bridge the gap through mutual understanding and improved communication channels. Again, we have embarked on intergenerational programs with a view to increasing cooperation, interaction and exchange between the old and younger generations.
In line with its commitment towards the elderly, the Mauritian Government has been operating a non-contributory universal pension to all people 60 years and older since 1976. These older persons are also entitled to travel freely on public transport. In addition, social assistance, such as income support, free wheelchairs, hearing aids, dentures and eyeglasses are also being provided to those that have low incomes.
Free healthcare is provided to all Mauritians, including older people. A fast track system of healthcare for the elderly is operational in all public healthcare centers. The health programs have already integrated many aspects of preventive care for the elderly so as to prevent diseases to which they are prone such as diabetes.
The Medical Unit of the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizen Welfare and Reform Institutions undertakes free domiciliary visits to persons over 90 years and to bedridden persons over 75 years. Every year, a vaccination campaign against anti-influenza for the elderly aged 65 and above is also undertaken.
The Mauritian Government has promulgated the Protection of Elderly Persons Act 2005 which provides a legal and administrative framework to ensure that adequate protection is available to older people (be it physical, verbal, mental, emotional or material).
As a matter of priority, we are called upon to address issues like:
- Specialized training in Gerontology and Geriatrics for medical officers, nurses and other paramedical staff and for older person caregivers.
- Planning for the welfare of seniors, taking into consideration that most of the elderly population is mostly women, many of them being widows, living alone or in low-income households.
- Extended families should be encouraged through appropriate fiscal concessions and other incentives.
- Emphasis should be put further on bridging the intergenerational gap to improve interaction between the youth and elderly.
- Health programs targeted to seniors should lay greater emphasis on many chronic diseases to which older people are prone.
I think that the international community, including international donors should assist, as a gesture of solidarity, Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing and least developed countries in the development of their social agenda for the realization of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
AI: On February 7th, 2007, you presented on innovative social pensions in Africa at the U.N.-AARP Briefing Series on Major Developments and Trends in Aging. As a leader within the African region, what has been your experience in establishing economic protections for older persons? How does Mauritius differ in its approach to social pensions from the rest of Africa?
SB: Payment of old age pensions in Mauritius began in 1950 on a means-tested basis for older people who had reached the age of 65 years. This pension was non-contributory as it was paid out of the government’s budget.
A major overhaul of our pension system occurred in 1976. The Old Age Pension was renamed ‘Basic Retirement Pension’ and became universal for those over 60. Three other universal pensions were also introduced in that year. These were:
- Basic Widow’s Pension for all widows under age 60 years;
- Basic Invalid’s Pension for all people between age 15 and 60 years who were at least 60 percent permanently disabled; and,
- Basic Orphan’s Pension for all orphans up to age 15 years or 20 years if in full-time education.
The main difference between the Mauritian pension system and that of other African countries concerns the percent of the population covered. In other African countries (with the exception of Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho), the pension system covers salaried workers in the formal sector. On average, workers in the formal sector represent barely 10 percent of the total labor force in sub-Saharan Africa. This means that 90 percent of the labor force in sub-Saharan Africa is not covered for pension purposes under a national social security system.
A non-contributory pension system, as is the case in Mauritius, has the big advantage of providing pension coverage to the whole population. It is a very effective instrument for poverty alleviation. It is for this reason that the World Bank is now actively advocating the introduction of such a system in order to decrease poverty. It is worth pointing out here that even Chile is actively considering the introduction of a similar system in the form of a basic solidarity pension.
AI: As you know, AARP is a non-profit organization that works to improve the quality of life for all generations, and empower older persons to make their voices heard. What role should governments and civil society organizations play in empowering older persons around the world and specifically in less developed countries?
SB: Government has a vital role in setting in place appropriate policies geared towards the empowerment of older persons in particular, because they have various specific needs in a quickly-changing society. But government alone cannot meet these needs. It is therefore important to empower older persons to be self-reliant and independent. We must encourage continuous learning and training on issues affecting the elderly. In Mauritius, much emphasis is put on education and training of the elderly through our network of Social Welfare Centers, Community Centers and senior citizen associations.
The Mauritius Government has set up an empowerment program with a project value of MUR 5 billion over five years to provide opportunities for the small and medium entrepreneurs in order to promote self-employment among all Mauritians without any discrimination of sex and age.
IT programs are accessible to all senior citizens in our various Social Welfare Centers and Community Centers. Older people should be provided with computer literacy programs to enable them to keep abreast of developments in the field of entrepreneurship and in other areas of interest to them.
The elderly should have a say in decision-making at both the community and national levels in view of their wide experience. In Mauritius, older people are called upon to be members of the Managing Committee of Social Welfare Centers and Community Centers where decisions for the benefit of the community are made. Also. a senior citizen council has been set up by Act of Parliament in 1985 to advise the Government in matters relating to the welfare of senior citizens.
A proper pension system should be operated in order to enable the elderly to be financially independent. In addition to mandatory contributory pension systems for the private sector and para-statal bodies and a non-contributory system for public officers in Mauritius, all people aged 60 years and over are also entitled to a universal non-contributory basic pension. In addition, a caregiving allowance is paid to older persons and disabled people needing constant care and attendance. Other forms of social assistance, such as income support, payment of examination fees, dentures and wheelchairs, are provided to older persons who have insufficient income. Elderly people are also provided free traveling in public transport at any time of the day. Older persons should be treated as full-fledged citizens with equal enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedom as any other citizen. In this regard, our government proposes to introduce shortly an equal opportunity bill before the National Assembly.
NGOs and civil society have also their share of responsibility in empowering elderly people. Therefore, partnerships between the Government, NGOs and civil society should be promoted. The formation of “advocacy NGOs” should also be encouraged.
AI: Women are playing a much larger role in society, especially older women. Grandmothers sometimes take the responsibility of raising their grandchildren because parents fall ill or pass away, or due to neglect by other family members. The role older women play as caregivers is an important social and economic contribution to societies worldwide, particularly in those countries severely affected by HIV/AIDS, but the financial impact on older women becomes quite substantial, forcing some into poverty. How should governments and civil society better respond to such situations?
SB: There are various social protection schemes in operation in Mauritius in order to take care of abandoned children or orphans. As already pointed out, a non-contributory universal orphan’s pension is paid under the National Pensions Scheme to all orphans up to age 15 years (or 20 years if in full-time education). A guardian’s allowance is also paid to those people who agree to take orphans under their care. Similar benefits are paid in respect of abandoned children under the Social Aid Act. In case there are no people willing to take care of orphans or abandoned children, they are referred for institutionalized care in orphanages run by NGOs which are financially supported by the government. As the Mauritian Government also provides a free health service, free education up to tertiary level, free transport to the elderly population and to schoolchildren, these facilities go a long way in ensuring that relatives who look after orphans and abandoned children are not driven into poverty. In fact, all these social protection measures are meant to provide adequate support to fully integrate these orphans and abandoned children into society.
The level of development in many African countries does not allow for a sophisticated social protection system to be put in place to help grandmothers who have to provide care to their grandchildren. However, a system of social assistance to such grandmothers will certainly go a long way in reducing poverty. NGOs can also play a vital role in providing both moral and financial support to grandmothers who have to care for their grandchildren.
AI: Finally, as we continue to grow older as a world, what policy challenges and opportunities do you see arising? Are there areas of innovation in policymaking or technology that you see drastically changing the way we respond to aging populations?
SB: The elderly population will increase substantially both in the medium-term and in the long-term. Also, the very old will constitute a larger percentage of the elderly population than is the case at present. For example, the elderly population in Mauritius will double over the next 20 years and will triple in forty years. Obviously, such a drastic change in the composition of the population as a whole will have repercussions in several sectors. An aging population will bring in its wake a number of changes at policy level and in the type of goods and services that will be in demand.
In Mauritius, the aging of the population will lead to the elderly constituting a much larger number of voters than is currently the case. At present, older people over the age of 60 years represent 13.6 percent of all voters. In forty years’ time, the number of voters over the age of 60 will constitute 31.4 percent of voters. We must add to this figure an additional eight percent of people in the age group 55 to 59 years who will be nearing retirement age and expecting to enjoy the benefits of retirement. In forty years’ time, more than one-third of voters will be concerned with benefits and facilities available for older persons. Appropriate policies will have to be put in place to satisfy such a large group of voters. So far, a lot of emphasis has been put on policies concerning benefits for the younger generation. This emphasis will most certainly shift towards benefits to be provided for senior citizens.
We know that the elderly consume a larger share of healthcare services than a similar number of the younger population. The aging of the population and, in particular, the increase in the number of the very old, will exert great pressure on our health services. As Mauritius provides a free health service to the whole population, including tertiary healthcare, there will be great pressure exerted on the government to increase substantially the share of the national budget allocated to the Ministry of Health. We will need a far greater number of doctors and other para-medical staff trained in the field of geriatrics. On the supply side, innovations in the medical field will enlarge the scope of medical facilities, particularly for tertiary healthcare, that is normally very costly. Healthcare costs will therefore increase exponentially.
Another major area that would call for changes in policy concerns the retirement age. Today, there are about seven persons of working age for every person over the normal retirement age of 60 years. In forty years’ time, there will be only about 2.3 persons of working age to support every pensioner if the retirement age is not raised. Such a drastic fall in the pensioner support ratio will have major repercussions both in the economy and in the ability of Mauritius to maintain the benefits payable under the current pension system. These problems will arise due to the population aging. However, we must look at the aging of the population as a matter for celebration and not as a problem. The problem arises from the fact that we want to work for the same amount of time although we know that we will enjoy a much longer number of years in retirement. There must be a tradeoff between number of years in active work and the number of years to be spent in retirement. Innovative policies will therefore have to be put in place to encourage workers to continue to work beyond the current retirement age of 60 years and to induce employers to do away with the present tendency of getting rid of older workers.
There is a need for a change of attitude at all levels in order to cope successfully with problems that we will have to face with an aging society.
Biography
Mrs. Sheilabai Bappoo is the Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizens Welfare and Reform Institutions of the Republic of Mauritius. Her distinguished career includes the following assignments: Deputy Mayor of Municipality of Beau Bassin Rose Hill (1977); Minister for Women’s Rights & Family Welfare (1983-1986); Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations and Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare (1987-1991); and Minister for Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare (1991-1995). Mrs. Bappoo’s background is in teaching; having taught secondary school before starting her political career.