Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 9 (PTI) The Keralam government on Wednesday signed an MoU to conduct a baseline survey on the health, social, economic and daily living conditions of the elderly population in the state.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding, the survey will be carried out by the Department of Elderly Welfare in collaboration with the Centre for Management Development as part of the government’s 100-day programme, according to a statement issued by the CMO.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister V D Satheesan at his official chambers in the Secretariat, it said.
The main objective of the survey is to assess the social, economic and daily living conditions and health of the elderly, and identify gaps in the availability of social security schemes and services for them, the statement said.
The findings will be used to plan future projects and programmes based on the preferences and needs of the elderly, and for evidence-based policy formulation, it added.
The survey will cover 3,000 respondents aged 60 years and above across all 14 districts of Keralam.
A scientific multi-stage random sampling method will be adopted to ensure adequate representation of different age groups—60-69, 70-79 and 80 years and above—as well as geographical areas, including urban, semi-urban and rural regions and environmentally vulnerable areas such as coastal, forest and tribal regions, it said.
Data will be collected at the district, local government, ward and household levels by trained enumerators using a standard survey schedule through face-to-face interviews, the statement said.
A state-level workshop involving elderly people, their caregivers, local representatives and officials from various government departments will also be conducted in conjunction with the survey, it said.
A final report will be submitted to the Department of Elderly Welfare within three months of the completion of the survey, it added.
On Tuesday, Satheesan had said directions had been issued to ensure that the state’s dedicated department for the welfare of elderly people—the first of its kind in the country and one of the poll promises of the UDF—starts functioning in a time-bound manner.
The department was created to cater to the needs of the steadily growing population of senior citizens in the state.
According to the government, the new department will be responsible for designing and implementing new welfare schemes for elderly people, as well as coordinating existing programmes meant for their care.
The decision to set up the department was taken at the first Cabinet meeting after the UDF came to power. PTI HMP SSK
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