Healthy Ageing is Not a Privilege but a Right

On October 1, Ghana joins the global community to mark the International Day of Older Persons. This year’s theme is “Older Persons Driving Local and Global Action: Our Aspirations, Our Well-Being and Our Rights.” The commemoration is not just symbolic but a call to recognize the central role older persons play in building resilient communities and to demand stronger policies that protect their health, dignity, and rights.

Older persons in Ghana are not passive dependents but are farmers sustaining food security, caregivers keeping families together, mentors passing on knowledge and values, and custodians of our cultural heritage. Their sacrifices laid the foundation for today’s economy and public institutions, yet their own health and social needs are too often neglected.

This demographic shift will add nearly 2.5 million older people to Ghana’s population within a single generation, an unprecedented surge that our health and social systems are not prepared to handle. Already, too many older persons are battling chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease without access to timely and adequate treatment. The result is avoidable suffering, premature loss of life, and the erosion of the dignity they deserve.

Global commitments provide a clear path for action. The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, the UN Principles for Older Persons, and the April 2025 Human Rights Council resolution on older persons’ rights all affirm that older people are not burdens. They are rights-holders and active agents of change. Ghana must now move beyond rhetoric and turn these commitments into real results. This means expanding the National Health Insurance Scheme to cover comprehensive geriatric services. It means building stronger rural health outreach and community-based care. It also means scaling up social protection programmes such as LEAP to provide genuine security. Finally, it requires investment in age-friendly infrastructure—safe transport, affordable housing, and community centers that promote inclusion.

The International Day of Older Persons is a reminder that the well-being of older citizens is one of the most honest measures of national progress. Ghana cannot claim inclusive development while its older people continue to live with poverty, inadequate healthcare, and neglect. Their aspirations are clear—security, dignity, and the chance to live meaningful lives. Meeting these aspirations must rise to the level of national priority, not remain at the margins of policy. A nation that protects and uplifts its older people not only restores justice to those who built its foundations, but also secures a future rooted in fairness and solidarity. Anything less is a failure of dignity, equity, and humanity—and the true test of our collective values is whether we choose to act now, with urgency and resolve, to make ageing in Ghana a stage of strength rather than suffering.