January 06, 2008	Sunday	Zilhaj 26, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Jan 5: The annual general body meeting of the Senior Citizens Foundation (SCF), which met here on Saturday, expressed its dissatisfaction over the government’s failure to approve Senior Citizens Bill and concerns over poor health facilities for senior citizens that constitute over eight million.

“The Senior Citizens Bill has been pending with the government for the last eight years. It has been tossed around from one department to another and between the cabinet and the parliamentary committees but to no avail,” said an executive of the SCF. He said the bill contained a framework for welfare of senior citizens including better health facilities, old age benefits and financial help.

Poor health care for the senior citizens seemed the second- most important issue during the meeting. Expensive medication and their unavailability, separate counters and even separate hospitals for greater care of senior citizens were some of the matters that came under discussion.

The general body meeting passed three resolutions unanimously urging the government for an early enactment of Senior Citizens Bill to institutionalise arrangement for the welfare of senior citizens, control exorbitant increase in prices of articles of common use and effective corrective action through price regulation and financial compensation particularly for fixed income groups.