HelpAge International Moldova insists on the elimination of the restriction concerning the isolation imposed on persons older than 63 as it considers it discriminatory. According to Cristina Railean, policies and advocacy coordinator at HelpAge International Moldova, the measure can be reformulated as recommendation for persons of any age. The ban imposed only on persons older than 63 generates a lot of legal questions and can set a dangerous precedent in the Republic of Moldova, in terms of violation of the basic rights of older persons, while the persons younger than 63 can consider that this measure does not refer to them and they do not face the danger of contracting the novel coronavirus. The opinion was formulated in a public debate entitled “Is isolation measure imposed on persons older than 63 discriminatory or not?” that was staged by HelpAge International Moldova.
Cristina Railean said the people use to look at the older persons only as at recipients of social welfare. However, the elderly should not be perceived as a vulnerable, passive and inactive group of society. All the measures that are taken in connection with COVID-19 should be based on the precondition that the older persons play an important role in the life of society even during public health emergencies.
In 2019, 9.3% of the working persons were elderly. Each fourth older person worked for the social services, primarily for social services provided by the state, such as the public administration, education, health, social assistance, agriculture. “We cannot challenge the weight and value of this group as regards the development of society and the advantages that they can generate namely during public health emergencies. We should change slightly our perception and should not perceive the elderly only as recipients of social assistance, but also as a group that makes a considerable contribution to the social life,” stated Cristina Railean, adding that the elderly are considered a homogenous group, but this is not right as they can be differentiated according to such criteria as state of health, age, gender, religion or self-perception of the state of health.
The HelpAge International coordinator noted there are particular medical preconditions for developing a serious form of COVID-19 and these apply not only to the elderly, but also to other age categories. Statistics show that the prevalence of chronic diseases expands with age and the age of 63 set in the Republic of Moldova, which is the standard retirement age, or 65 or 70, which is mentioned in other states, is arbitrary as the danger of infection persists also in the case of persons who didn’t turn 63. The prevalence of chronic diseases increases with age, but the authorities’ message in this regard should be common for all the age categories because the people are not motivated to change their behavior if they are not mentioned in authorities’ messages.
“The isolation measure is imposed on persons older than 63 and authorities’ messages say the persons older than 63 are more exposed to the risk of infection and serious developments of the disease. But the message should be addressed to all the age categories as everyone should protect themselves and the others. The message based on the age criterion and the mentioning of an arbitrary age can widen the gap between generations and can lead to stigmatization,” stated Cristina Railean.
The public debate was held in the framework of the project “Integration of active aging into public policies in the Republic of Moldova” that is implemented by HelpAge International and the Platform for Active Aging, with support from East Europe Foundation, in partnership with the Partnership for Development Center, with the resources provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Sweden.
