Making Health Care Services Friendly to Older People of Zanzibar project aims to advocate for change in health services to make them friendly to the elderly and People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) of Zanzibar. Also, the project intends to raise awareness to government officials and other stakeholders on the importance of age-friendly services, empower and train older people on their rights and older citizen monitoring, to make them capable of monitoring health services and advocating for change. Also, build the capacity of health workers by training them on age-friendly services Beneficiaries’ Older people, PLWDs and Health Workers The grant applied to JUWAZA will support the implementation of Making Health Care Services Friendly to Older People of Zanzibar project. This project among other things will support the organization to build capacity of older people forums by training them on their rights, principles of age-friendly services and older citizen monitoring in health services. Sensitize and train health care workers on how to provide services to older people and people living with disabilities in a friendly way. Among the activities that will be implemented in this project include conducting one baseline survey to collect information on the current situation regarding access and friendliness of health services to the elderly and PLWDs, Advocate for rights and entitlements of the elderly including change in social services. Build capacity of the older people forums to make them capable of monitoring and advocating for change in health care services. Build capacity of health care workers Utilize media to prepare awareness campaign on rights and entitlements.

This project was initiated to empower Zanzibar’s senior citizens and advocate for improved healthcare services that are more accessible to the elderly. Our objective was to increase awareness, enable older individuals to monitor health services and enhance the capabilities of healthcare workers to deliver services that address the needs of older people.

We collaborated closely with government officials, local leaders, and Older People Forums (OPFs) to promote and protect the rights of older citizens. By using collaborative methods and leveraging social media platforms, we amplified our message. Despite facing challenges, we remained committed to emphasizing the importance of creating healthcare facilities that serve the elderly.

Our efforts led to noticeable changes. A meeting between the Elderly Council and the President resulted in significant commitments from key ministries to address the concerns of older individuals. Healthcare workers received specialized training, which enhanced service delivery and increased awareness among older individuals about their health. Health facilities adopted the “Wazee Kwanza” (“The Elderly First”) slogan, prioritizing elderly care.

Throughout our journey, we recognized the value of fostering collaboration. We learned that addressing tangible issues and establishing connections with influential figures are essential for driving meaningful change within society.

We encourage readers to take action and join us in advocating for the rights of older individuals.