The Director-General of the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC), Emem Omokaro, said older persons experience discrimination in social protection systems and humanitarian emergency mechanisms.
She said the discrimination manifests in inadequate pension benefits, lack of access to affordable healthcare, or limited social assistance, and right assistance and support for those in need.
Omokaro stated this at NSCC’s programme and services fair with the theme: “Equity by Design”, held in Abuja yesterday.
“Employers may hold stereotypes about older persons’ productivity, adaptability or technological proficiency, leading to their exclusion from employment opportunities.
“This discrimination denies older persons the right to work and contribute to society. This is a violation of the right to work as provided in Article 23, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“Nigeria established the Continuing Engagement Bureau Program for older persons, designed specifically to develop a vibrant database of retired technocrats, professionals, artisans and to harness their skills, expertise and experiences, connecting them to opportunities to work and the labor market through labor market agreements.
“Older persons register, indicating their area of expertise and National Senior Citizens Centre via that medium links them up with the organization that indicates the need for them and they are engaged/employed accordingly,’’ she said.
