Africa-Press – Ghana. Dr Akosua Agyemang, a lecturer at the Department of Social Work, University of Ghana has called for a financial assistant programme for caregivers of the aged and children with disabilities.
She said a lot of people see caregiving as a blessing and believe that caregiving was with divine rewards, however, caregiving also came with financial, emotional, and physical burden.
Dr Agyemang said the external family support system was dwindling and there was the need for the government to step in with the necessary policies and support.
She was making a presentation at a seminar organised by the Caregivers Empowerment Network, a sub-regional network for caregivers for the aged and children with disabilities.
The seminar aimed at amplifying the voices of family and unpaid caregivers and create awareness on their existence, roles, and contributions.
The seminar brought together about 100 stakeholders from southern, Eastern, and west Africa as well as research institutions and government representatives to share experiences and make recommendations for policy makers and the African Union.
Dr Agyemang said caregivers were the unsung heroes providing essential support for their loved ones especially the elderly and called for support systems to sustain the caregivers’ network.
Ms Rosemond Gyimah Acheampong, a Caregiver of a person with autism added her voice to the call for financial assistance and urged governments to pay attention to caregivers, saying “caregivers are burning out.”
“Caregivers should be properly taken care of,” she added.
Dr Munya Saruchera, Chair of the Caregivers Empowerment Network said the conversation and advocacy around caregivers will be sustained and pushed to the sub regional blocs involved and also push governments to formulate favourable policies that support caregivers
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