A. Protection and Inclusion
Older people is one of the most at-risk and vulnerable sectors yet they are often excluded and remain invisible in many circumstances like policy-making, emergencies, and rights and entitlements.
Our organization, together with partners, takes different approaches in ensuring protection and inclusion of older persons in the following areas:
B. Economic inclusion
The lack of a universal pension scheme or inclusion of older people in current livelihood programs and employment undermines their ability to meet their needs or contribute to family income. In the buffer zone, older people’s access to livelihoods and income opportunities is restricted due to physical decline that comes with ageing. Older people living alone, widows, older heads of households, or those living with older people should be prioritized for appropriate livelihoods assistance designed to support financial stability.
We advocate the inclusion and promotion of older persons to age-friendly livelihood and employment to improve older people living conditions and provide basic income guarantee in older age.
C. Public Policy and Governance inclusion
COSE works in ensuring the participation of older people and inclusion of their issues in the development of public policies and programs. In the local level, we work in encouraging local authorities to promote and acknowledge the rights of older people and consider them when planning and implementing development projects.
We also strengthen older people organizations (OPOs) in the community because they are important in pushing for an inclusive governance and policy-making. OPOs can initiate, manage and sustain development efforts that are more responsive to their specific needs and aspirations as older persons. Such efforts contribute to the empowering process among older persons.
In addition, we facilitate the setting up of Older Citizen Monitoring Boards (OCMB) and Help Desk in the local government units.
D. Emergency inclusion
Older people are one of the most vulnerable sectors of society when natural disasters strike or armed conflict erupts. Yet, because of physical decline that comes with ageing (e.g. poor health, mobility, sight, hearing and their general isolation from others), they often do not receive the humanitarian aid and services they need. Older people may face great difficulty in reaching food and aid distribution points, communicating their needs to others, and registering for services in evacuation camps. In the past, and even today, humanitarian organizations have failed to take older people into consideration when planning emergency responses.
We have emergency response programs that highlights the inclusion of older people and other vulnerable sectors, and are closely working with other humanitarian groups to include older people in their responses and programme with the aid of Aging and Disability Task Force (ADTF).
E. Campaigns and Policy Advocacy
We work together with Confederation of Older Persons Associations of the Philippines (COPAP) in drafting and advocating policies that have far-more reaching and long term impact on the lives of not just of the country’s ageing population but on all age levels. COSE and COPAP hold the following priorities in the Older Persons Policy and Legislative Agenda (OPPLA):