K. B. Asante: Who is going to look after mum and dad?

This question is being asked by sections of the British Press. I believe, however, that Ghana should begin to ask who is going to look after “Awo” and “Papa”? It was not a major issue not long ago.

I remember getting a cultural shock when on my second day in Britain over 60 years ago, the BBC one o’clock news was preceded by the urgent announcement: “Will John Cook, last heard of 10 years ago, please go to Paddington Hospital, London, where his father Richard Cook is dangerously ill?”

I was stunned. How could a man not know where his father was for 10 years? In Ghana, at the time, father, mother, brothers and sisters, children and grandma, as well as grandpa, often lived in the same compound house. Sometimes, the relations lived in the next house or nearby. But grandma and grandpa lived in the “family” house and were “looked after” by the children, grandchildren and relatives.

The situation has been changing for some time and it is not easy to look after parents and elderly relatives who need help. Children leave the family house when they grow up and build to accommodate their own family. Mummy and daddy will be left to live on their own in the old house.

They manage, if circumstances permit, and are assisted by the children if possible.

Now, there are a few parents whose circumstances enable them to look after themselves and even assist the grown-up children to settle down in life.

But living costs have gone up greatly and pensions have not kept up with the cost of living. Moreover, men and women are living longer.

Diseases which kill quickly can now be contained but are expensive to cure or manage. Old age brings its own ailments such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. It is stressful to watch the old and loved ones suffer the afflictions of age.

The question about who will look after parents is, therefore, most relevant. I know of devoted children who engaged nurses to look after their old parents after they had moved out of the family house.

Even if the parents live with them, they need to provide care for them when they and their spouses are at work and the young ones are at school. It is an expensive business. Two or more nurses have sometimes to be engaged to work in shifts.

Who is going to look after mummy and daddy is no longer a matter to be left to those who have “mummies and daddies”. Those with “papas” and “mamas” and parents by other names have similar problems. It is a social issue which should engage the attention of government.

Pensions should be realistic and social security payments carefully administered. Those who misappropriate social security deductions from their employees should be dealt with severely and the public educated to regard them with contempt. Similarly, those who invest social security or pension funds corruptly or improperly should be appropriately dealt with. But, ultimately, the government should realise that it is as responsible for the old as it is for the welfare of the country’s children.

Communities should be encouraged to build houses for the aged. Such houses or homes should be in a compound with a dining facility or two and should be near a hospital. It should be possible to ring for medical help which should be available without much delay.

Rooms may be cleaned centrally or by private arrangement. We have to face facts and realise that in our present circumstances and situation, the homes will differ in standards and facilities, and appropriate charges should be levied to cover costs, according to what is provided.

The idea of special housing for the elderly is not new. I have enjoyed meals and warm encounters with over 90 year olds at such housing facilities in Europe.

Children should be brought up in the tradition of looking after their parents doing old age. Parents should, where possible, prepare for their old age. They should not wait until they are old and incapable before they demand the “impossible” from their children, relations and doctors.

With the help of our many talented architects, they should build their houses to take account of old age. If it is a storey building, there should be a small self-contained flat on the ground floor into which they can move when they are old.

Also, individuals and groups should establish organisations to cater for the old where necessary, as Mrs Alberta Ollennu and others have done.

In this regard, I was pleased to be invited to an organisation for the old at Pokuase a few weeks ago. Dame Betty Asafu-Adjaye has established Mission Dine Club where the elderly can pass time in a caring environment. It was reassuring for the aged to see eminent citizens such as Bishop Hodasi and Dr Riverson involved in the organisation.

The state also should accept its responsibility. The youth should be provided with work which would yield the resources to grow the economy to achieve the aims of an appropriate national plan.

The old should not be pensioned off work when their expertise and experience could be employed for national progress. The pension age should be based on research, medical evidence and individual possibilities.

The elderly should be encouraged to prepare for their old age. Society should emphasise that it is the duty of citizens to make provision for their children and those for whom they are responsible. It is also the duty of citizens to look after the elderly.