Financial abuse of elderly on the rise: NGO
An NGO working with the elderly says problems that older persons face in society should be high on the agenda of government, educational institutions and faith-based organisations.
As today marks the beginning of Older Person's Week, Age in Action's CEO Ingrid Cupido says South Africa should now focus on the fact that we are living in an aging society.
She says in a few years' time there will be more people over the age of 60 than under 15s.
Cupido says their interaction with citizens in the last three months has shown that the elderly are increasingly being financially abused.
''They are also the ones who are having to share their meagre pensions, the social grants with whole families.
''They have to share that little money with unemployed youth and adults in their homes and see to the social and educational needs of vulnerable children in their care,'' she said.
Cupido says a number of events have been planned at their centres across the country leading up to International Elder Persons Day on Thursday.