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President Yoweri Museveni has noted that the government should sponsor and recruit a geriatrician in each district to offer free and consistent medical support to the elderly, a move aimed at solving the problem of medical conditions and expenses, which he said is another issue facing older people.
‘’Another issue facing older people is that they are most affected by medical conditions and expenses. It is, therefore, my view that the government should sponsor and recruit a geriatrician in each district to offer free and consistent medical support to the elderly,’’ Mr Museveni said on Thursday.
A geriatrician is something more than a physician who simply cares for old people.
Mr Museveni, who was officiating at the International Day of the Older Persons at State House Entebbe, also disclosed that the government will tailor a Parish Development Programme for the elderly, a move to create and maintain wealth among the elderly people.

He disclosed that the government will implement such a programme after concluding financial engagements in the African Cup of Nations (Afcon), which he said has taken a lot of money.

‘’Our aim as government is to ensure that wealthy older people maintain their wealth, while those who have none are supported to obtain it through available government programmes. Therefore, we shall tailor a PDM programme for the elderly after concluding our financial engagements in the AFCON, which has taken a lot of money,’’ Mr Museveni said.

Under PDM, the government allocated 30 percent of the funds to women, 30 percent for youth, and 10 percent to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), 10 percent for the elderly and 20 percent to groups that don’t fall in the special categories.

The National Council for Older Persons in 2023 asked the government to allow its members to create special groups in order to access the Parish Development Model (PDM) funds.

The Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE), is the only government programme that provides direct cash transfers of Shs25,000 to elderly and vulnerable citizens in the name of reducing poverty and improving livelihoods.

The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, which manages the programme, says the monthly grant will be increased to Shs35,000 in the 2026/2027 Financial Year.

Mr Museveni also urged the elderly to modernise and learn to preserve their wealth, instead of fragmenting and distributing it to their children, advising them to use modern inheritance methods such as shareholding.

Uganda’s elderly population of those aged 60 and above has more than doubled since 2003. The 2024 National Population and Housing Census and recent projections show that the number, which reached 2.3 million as of the 2024/2025 period, is projected to surge to six million by 2050.

This is as life expectancy rose from 63.7 years in 2014 to 68.5 years in 2024. Yet ageism is still rife despite the changes to the age structure of Ugandan society.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis