INTERNATIONAL DAY OF OLDER PERSONS 2026 TO BE CELEBRATED AT STATE HOUSE

International Day of Older Persons 2026 shall be celebrated virtually at State House, Entebbe, and broadcast live through media platforms countrywide on Thursday, 1st October, 2026, under the theme, ‘Ageing with Dignity: Strengthening Care and Support Systems.’ The event shall be presided over by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, as Chief Guest. This was revealed by Hon. Jacqueline Mbabazi, the Minister of State for Elderly Affairs, at Uganda Media Centre on Wednesday, 30th September, 2026.

Older persons, especially those who are frail, should be assisted financially by their families, protected from elder abuse and neglect, given psychosocial support, including will writing; in order to age with dignity and not suffer ageism related discrimination. “As children and grandchildren, it’s our responsibility to give back to our parents. Let’s look at this as a noble responsibility,” Mbabazi advised.

According to the 2024 Census report, approximately 2.3 million Ugandans are aged 60 years and above (5% of the population). This was projected to be 2.6 million by mid-2026 and the numbers are expected to grow rapidly. A total of 1.64 million households were headed by older persons, who were taking care of 5.9 million dependents, mainly orphans and vulnerable children. 1.64 million older persons, plus 5.9 million dependents, brings the total care burden to 7.5 million people under the care of older persons.

Mbabazi mentioned the deplorable living conditions some elderly people are enduring in Uganda. “The majority of older persons in the countryside are in the informal sector. About 99% of households of older persons lack friendly sanitation facilities (latrines). They use squat-pit latrines, instead of sit-latrines that are appropriate for their weak muscles and bones,” she said.

Even more startling is the fact that out-of-pocket health spending is almost three times for older persons, compared to the general population. “We have only one geriatrician and four social gerontologists in government to serve 2.6 million older persons. We need all regional referral hospitals to be staffed with a geriatrician and all districts should have a social gerontologist.  95.5% of older persons have no health insurance of any kind, yet ill health is a major challenge among older persons.  For instance, under Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE), beneficiaries spend more than 30% of their allowance on health,” Mababzi expounded.

Nevertheless, SAGE has been helpful, to a certain degree. SAGE provides regular income support to eligible, older persons. During FY 2025/2026, payments were made to 318,649 older persons, mainly those aged 80 years and above. Government is also implementing the Special Enterprise Grant for Older Persons (SEGOP), launched in FY 2022/2023 for older persons aged 60 to 79 years, who can engage in productive activities, sustainable livelihoods, agriculture and income-generating activities. SEGOP operates through groups of 5 to 10 eligible older persons, with each group eligible to receive up to UGX 5 million. To date, the programme has benefited more than 2,948 groups, representing 18,631 individual beneficiaries.

“We have a shameless 82% of perpetrators of elder abuse reported as relatives of older persons,” Mbabazi disclosed. Since the elderly often fall victim to all manner of abuse, such as financial exploitation and land grabbing, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development is developing an Elder Abuse Reduction Programme.

“I wish all older persons in Uganda a meaningful International Day of Older Persons 2026,” she concluded.

The writer works for Uganda Media Centre