An assistance program for the elderly called “Silver Fund” is to be implemented in Moldova. This is a fund to the value of half a billion lei that is needed for taking measures to ensure the active involvement of older persons at the local level, Minister of Labor and Social Protection Marcel Spatari stated in a press club meeting entitled “8 Billion People on Earth , what’s the situation in the Republic of Moldova?”, IPN reports.

According to the minister, the money will be used to stage activities for the elderly, to set up older persons’ councils at local, regional or national levels so that this category of people can also take part in the decision-making process. There is a problem related to the indexation rules inherited from the 1990s, which can be solved with the help of such a fund. The most vulnerable persons are older than 80 and are the poorest as their pension is by 1,000 lower than the pensions of persons who retire now or those who are aged between 60 and 70.

“We signaled this injustice and need the Silver Fund to put right this injustice. I hope the money for this program will be identified as swiftly as possible. The Ministry drafted a decision on the Silver Fund and this mechanism will start to be implemented when resources are identified,” stated the minister.

Nigina Abaszada, UNFPA Moldova Resident Representative, said there are a lot of countries in which the people cannot age for different reasons. That‘s why the fact that the people in the Republic of Moldova can become older with dignity and respect should be appreciated. “It is important to accept the concept of active aging. We need to deal with the increase of pensions, but there are also other possibilities for integrating the older persons and obtaining alternative income,” stated the official.

According to Nigina Abaszada, the local public authorities should become involved to support the older persons. The demographic profile should be analyzed and local problems should be dealt with. If there are persons with particular duties at the local level, these can be also engaged in local activities by adjusting their skills. This will ensure additional income and social involvement will also create this connection with the community. The persons will feel useful owing to their contribution to the development of society. There are many opportunities for engaging all the citizens who return from abroad and intend to retire.

The share of the global population aged 65 years or above is projected to rise from 10 percent in 2022 to 16 percent in 2050. The world’s older population continues to grow, with Europe and North America being the regions with the highest percentage of older people.