The Writer
“Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.” — Psalm 71:9
The tragedy of aging is not that people grow old; the tragedy is what society often does to them when they do. There comes a time in every life when strength gives way to frailty, and those who once carried us in their arms need our hands to support them.
Some sit by the window each day, hoping that someone will visit. Some smile when they hear their children’s voices, not because they need money, but because they need to feel remembered. Others say, “We are fine,” even when they are not, because they do not want to be a burden to their families.
Many older persons need help to walk, to eat, to bathe, and to take their medication, yet they suffer in silence because no one is there to assist them. Perhaps the saddest reality is that many of them endure these hardships quietly after spending the greater part of their lives ensuring that others did not suffer.
They sacrificed their strength, their dreams, and often their comfort to raise families and build communities, only to find themselves alone and forgotten in the evening of their lives. Old age should never become a punishment for having lived long. It should be a season marked by dignity, care, companionship, and gratitude, a time when society honours those who once gave so much and ensures that no elderly person is left to suffer in loneliness or neglect.
Aging is an inevitable stage of life. The aged among us are living treasures whose sacrifices, wisdom, and love have shaped our families, communities, and the nation.
Every elderly person we see today was once a young dreamer, a hardworking parent, a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, a banker, a politician, a farmer, a nurse, a trader, or a public servant. They spent their productive years nurturing families, educating generations, building communities, contributing to national development, and making sacrifices that continue to benefit society, yet now spend the twilight of their lives in uncertainty, poverty, isolation, neglect, and inadequate support systems.
In some rural communities, accusations of witchcraft and social exclusion still haunt many elderly people, especially women, forcing them into lives of fear and humiliation. Many spend their later years battling loneliness, neglect, financial hardship, and ill health, yearning not for riches but for compassion, dignity, and companionship.
Caring for the aged is therefore not merely a social responsibility; it is a moral obligation and a heartfelt expression of gratitude to those who spent their best years caring for us. Retirement, which should symbolise a period of rest and fulfilment, has become a source of anxiety for many.
Rising healthcare costs, delayed pensions, limited access to social protection, and the absence of specialised elderly care facilities have left many older people vulnerable. How we treat our elderly today reflects not only our humanity but also the kind of society we aspire to build for generations to come.
There is a quiet tragedy unfolding in many homes across Ghana, a tragedy that does not always announce itself with noise but with silence. It is the silence of fathers and mothers who once carried entire families on their shoulders, educating generations, building communities, contributing to national development, and making sacrifices that continue to benefit society, who are now sitting alone for long hours, waiting for attention that rarely comes.
It is the silence of once-strong men and women whose lives were defined by sacrifice, responsibility, and endless giving, now gradually becoming dependent on those they once raised and protected.
Today, many of them sit for long hours in solitude, watching life pass them by. Men who once commanded respect and provided for entire families sometimes eat alone in silence and sleep alone. Days pass without meaningful conversation. Nights stretch long, filled only with reflection and loneliness. The homes they built with effort and pride become too quiet.
The children they once worked tirelessly for become distant, not necessarily out of cruelty, but often because of the pressures and demands of modern life. The race to build careers, pursue wealth and fame, and keep up with the ever-increasing expectations of society leaves little time for meaningful connections with aging parents.
Parents who once spent sleepless nights worrying about the well-being of their children now spend sleepless nights waiting for a phone call, a visit, or a simple reminder that they are not forgotten.
For many elderly women, there is at least some continuity of belonging. Their children often invite them to assist in caring for grandchildren. Their presence remains woven into the fabric of daily family life. They are needed in the kitchen, in childcare, in storytelling, and in preserving family memory. Even in old age, they remain visibly connected to the rhythm of the household. But for many elderly men, old age is often accompanied by a deeper silence. The once lively household becomes a space of memories rather than presence.
Even for those who are fortunate enough to live in their children’s homes, the household becomes active in the morning, but the elderly person is often left behind in stillness. Children leave for school. Adults leave for work. The house becomes empty.
The elderly father or mother remains seated, sometimes unable to move freely, sometimes unable to perform the simplest daily tasks without assistance. The deepest pain of aging is not physical weakness, poverty, or illness. It is invisibility. It is the slow feeling of becoming unnecessary in a world one helped to build.
The Legal Framework
Despite these realities, Ghana’s legal and social protection systems have not yet fully responded to the lived experiences of older persons. Ghana has demonstrated a commitment to the welfare of older persons through the National Ageing Policy and social interventions such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme and the National Health Insurance Scheme.
In addition, SSNIT’s introduction of telehealth services reflects efforts to improve access to healthcare and social support for the elderly. Nevertheless, these measures remain largely policy-driven and fragmented and have not translated into a comprehensive legal framework capable of adequately protecting and promoting the rights and dignity of older persons.
Article 37(6)(b) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides that the state shall provide social assistance to the aged, such as will enable them to maintain a decent standard of living. While the constitution mandates that the aged are offered special care and assistance, there remains no comprehensive legal framework specifically designed to guarantee dignity, care, and structured support for the elderly as a vulnerable group.
Recognising the growing challenges associated with population aging, the United Nations General Assembly resolved in 1978 to address issues affecting older persons. This led to the convening of the First World Assembly on Aging in Vienna, Austria, in 1982, where participants adopted the Vienna International Plan of Action on Aging.
The Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing called upon governments to adopt policies and programmes that would enable older persons to live in dignity, enjoy adequate healthcare and social protection, remain integrated within their families and communities, and participate fully in society.
It laid the foundation for subsequent international initiatives, including the United Nations Principles for Older Persons (1991) and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002).
The United Nations Human Rights Council on April 3, 2025, began an intergovernmental process to draft an international human rights treaty on older people aimed at resolving a wide range of human rights violations, which include violence and mistreatment; age-based discrimination; social, economic, and political exclusion; denial of access to care and support services; inadequate social security; exclusion from climate change responses; and abuses in armed conflict.
In 2016, the African Union adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa, a landmark instrument aimed at protecting the dignity, independence, and welfare of older persons. The Protocol obliges member states to safeguard older persons from discrimination, neglect, abuse, harmful traditional practices, and social exclusion.
Ghana has ratified almost all international legislative instruments aimed at enhancing the welfare of the elderly. At the domestic level, the country has formulated and implemented policies that seek to improve the lives of the elderly.
Nonetheless, these measures continue to be largely disjointed and policy-driven and have not yet developed into a unified and comprehensive legal framework that can adequately protect and advance the rights and dignity of older persons.
A society that fails to protect its elderly is ultimately failing to protect its future self. A society is measured not merely by how it treats its strongest members but by how it cares for those who are most vulnerable. Older persons deserve more than sympathy; they deserve rights that are enforceable and systems that are responsive.
Aging is not merely a social issue. It is a question of dignity. It is a question of justice. It is a question of human rights. Older persons do not cease to be human because their hair turns grey. Their rights do not diminish because their bodies have weakened.
Their need for love, companionship, healthcare, housing, food, social protection, and respect does not disappear because they have retired from active work. They deserve opportunities for social engagement and support against loneliness and mental health challenges. Above all, they deserve respect and dignity.
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service, 4.3 percent (1,325,776) of Ghana’s total population of 30,832,019 are aged 65 and above. The proportions are higher in six regions than the national average: Volta (6.8%), Upper East (6.3%), Eastern (5.7%), Upper West (5.3%), Central (4.6%), and Bono (4.5%). Behind these figures are countless elderly persons who do not seek pity or sympathy but guaranteed dignity, care, structured support for the elderly, and an enforceable legal and social obligation.
As Ghana’s population ages, an important question confronts the nation: Are we truly ensuring that our elderly citizens’ age with dignity? The growing number of older persons in Ghana makes the need for a comprehensive legal framework urgent rather than optional. Such legislation should establish clear rights and obligations, provide mechanisms for protection against neglect and abuse, strengthen social security systems, and promote access to healthcare and community support services.
Equally important is the need to cultivate a culture that honours and values older persons. Families, communities, religious institutions, and policymakers all have roles to play in ensuring that aging is not accompanied by fear and indignity.
Source: Alex Boateng
