JEDDAH: The Saudi elderly support organization “WAQAR” has announced the launch of an “Honor our Elderly” awareness campaign. 

The campaign is sponsored by the King Abdullah International Foundation for Humanitarian Works, within the framework of the UN’s yearly celebration of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) on June 15.

The campaign will continue until June 16. It will include events such as introducing WAQAR’s efforts within the framework of supporting the elderly in a number of Riyadh’s markets, as well as organizing a conference for men and women that clarifies the concept of abuse and its forms, and how to protect the elderly from abuse.

The campaign also includes the organization of a visit to bedridden seniors in hospitals, aiming to help bring them happiness, check on them healthwise, and make them 

feel appreciated. 

Secretary-General of the King Abdullah Foundation Ali bin Siddiq Al-Hekmi said that the campaign was launched as a result of the foundation’s strong belief in the elderly’s right to live a decent life, and also to strengthen the values that protect them from abuse through shedding light on various forms of abuse and ways to combat it.

WAQAR’s Executive Director Abdul Aziz Al-Hadlaq called on all segments of society to participate in the campaign.

Al-Hadlaq said that elder abuse was an international problem — found equally in developing and developed countries — and in 2017, 15.7 percent of the elderly experienced a form of abuse, based on a study conducted in 28 countries.

He said that WAQAR did not want to participate in the world celebration of the occasion in a conventional way. WAQAR realized that some people misunderstand abuse as physical only, he said, whereas abuse includes psychological, financial and health aspects, and is a matter that needs comprehensive awareness.