In Ghana, and throughout Africa, older people face hardship because of society’s negative attitudes towards them.

Many are abandoned and neglected by their families, and subjected to rape and physical abuse. Older women, especially widows, suffer more rights abuses than older men and are often accused of witchcraft.

However, older people rarely report these abuses because of fear, and ignorance of their rights.

Aims

The project, supported by IrishAid aiemd to enable older people – particularly older women – to assert their rights and promote change in the attitudes, systems and structures that deny them their rights to property and access to justice.

Activities

HelpAge International worked with affiliate HelpAge Ghana in the Ashanti (Kumasi) and Greater Accra regions of Ghana.

We focused on raising awareness of older people’s issues and the abuse they often suffer, through activities such as:

• radio plays on national and community radio stations;
• advocacy materials, such posters, leaflets and radio plays, and a drawing competition for schools;
• community meetings;
• workshops with stakeholders, including parliamentarians, rights-based organisations, the media and older people’s organisations.
  

We reviewed a series of policy documents to identify opportunities for mainstreaming older people’s issues. These included laws and customs affecting older people’s rights to property and access to justice. The review was circulated to MPs and others who have the power to amend the law in favour of older people.

We monitored print and electronic media to assess their coverage of older people’s issues. Awards were given to reporters and media houses that were most receptive of older people’s issues.

Other activities included:

• Co-sponsoring and addressing a conference for lawyers.
• Training paralegals to advise aggrieved older people.
• Setting up a legal-challenge fund to meet the cost of lawsuits on behalf of older people.
• An exchange visit between HelpAge Ghana and HelpAge International Tanzania. The latter was running a similar project to address property rights violations of older widows.
  

Achievements

• Older people have gained a greater knowledge of their rights and the confidence to fight when these are violated. This is reflected in the increased number of cases being handled by paralegals trained under the programme.
• Rights-based organisations are increasingly addressing violations of older people’s rights. These include the Ghana Legal Aid Board, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and Women in Law and Development in Africa.
• Older people are gaining a higher profile, with more media houses covering their issues.
• The rights work influenced legislation, policies and programmes. Older people’s issues are now mainstreamed in Ghana’s National Health Insurance Bill and the current Ghana Poverty and Growth Reduction Policy. HelpAge Ghana have identified champions in the government to press for the enactment and implementation of the draft policy for older people.
• HelpAge Ghana’s capacity and national profile rose significantly. The organisation now gets free airtime on radio and television to discuss issues affecting older people in the country.
• The project directly benefited 1,907 older people in Kumasi and Accra. More than 11,000 people in the communities have benefited indirectly from increased awareness, and now have better access to the systems and structures that exist to address abuse of their rights.

Future plans

Once funding is secured, the programme may be extended to other parts of Ghana