A Professor of Human Nutrition, Ibiyemi Olayiwola, has charged government at all levels to ensure prompt payment of pensions and gratuity of retirees in order for them to achieve a good and appropriate nutritional status in the evening of their life.
Professor Olayiwola gave the charge while delivering the 82nd Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, titled ‘Nutrition in the Evening’, held at the Oluwafemi Balogun Ceremonial Building of the University.
According to her, there was the need for operative care for the elderly, which will necessitate a multi-dimensional approach and integrating active collaboration of stakeholders, including health care providers, social welfare workers, policy makers, politicians, rural and urban development agencies, members of the community and the legal sector for adequate nutrition in the evening.
She stressed that nutrition in the evening should involve a strong political commitment to drive the effective implementation of policy at the grass root level, adding that enhancement in the health knowledge of the elderly about possible risk factors, and social measures, where children willingly take the responsibility of looking after their aged parents should be encouraged.
The Don, who is of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Food Science and Human Ecology (COLFHEC), noted that a supervisory mechanism that would guarantee the community and family look after their elderly parents should be put in place, calling for an advancement of a healthy insurance scheme to cover their health care needs, feeding and overall nutritional status.
The Professor of Human Nutrition, however, reiterated that there should be an awareness on recognition of early signs and symptoms of common geriatric problems, noting that there should be training and retraining of medical and paramedical staff to effectively understand the special health needs of the elderly, saying considering the effect of environmental health on the nutritional status of the elderly, special attention should be paid to environmental problems such as pollution and sanitary houses.
