The latest statistics issued by the Community Development Authority in Dubai, which has seen «Emirates Today» a copy, has reached the number of beneficiaries of the card, dedicated to senior citizens in the Emirate of Dubai, to 7040 beneficiaries, compared to 1947 beneficiaries during the first year of its launch (2013) The Authority was able to increase the number of senior citizens enrolled in Thukhur Social Club from 94 members in 2014 to 267 members this year, as part of the implementation of its plans to integrate senior citizens with other categories. Community, by providing the services required for their lives under the best conditions Living and health, as well as encouraging them to actively participate in various cultural, social and recreational activities.

Mariam Hamad Al Hammadi, Director of Senior Citizens Department at Dubai Community Development Authority, told Emirates Today: “The Authority has issued an ammunition card for senior citizens, ie those over 60 years of age, as a quality initiative to provide a package of services and facilities for them. With a number of government institutions and private companies, especially this age is the retirement age in the UAE ».

She added: «According to the latest data issued by the Dubai Statistics Center, the category of senior citizens currently constitute 6.6% of the population of the Emirate of Dubai, pointing out that due to the continuous increase in life expectancy and the development of health care, this percentage is likely to increase gradually, which makes it One of the most important categories for which the CDA provides a variety of services. It said that the entities cooperating with the Authority in the provision of services through the Thakur card, rose from 37 in 2013 to 166 in the current year.

Al Hammadi explained that the Authority has adopted community welfare and integration programs for senior citizens, which rely on cooperation with the authorities and individuals, to allow community groups to participate in the responsibility for the advancement of their lives, stressing that this approach is based on the strategic vision of the Government of Dubai and global recommendations on the need to adopt sustainable integration solutions for the elderly with The projected increase in their numbers in the coming years, which is expected to reach about two billion people by 2050, an estimated 20% of the world population.

Al-Hammadi said that the club, which was established in 2014, offers a range of activities, events and daily programs that deal with the cultural, social, recreational and health aspects of the lives of senior citizens, in order to enhance their integration in public life and benefit from their experiences, and spend their leisure time optimally to pursue their lives positively Ideal psychological and health status, contributing their role to the service of society, national development and preservation of identity, commensurate with their abilities and tendencies.

Al-Hammadi pointed to the tasks of the SCA team responsible for following up the affairs of Thukhur Social Club, which includes supervising training programs on handicrafts, managing the library and providing it with new publications and publications and organizing borrowing, as well as supervising the gym and organizing its activities, managing the social hall, organizing and providing services to its guests. In addition to organizing trips and events outside sports and entertainment.

Al-Hammadi pointed out that the National Volunteer Team, formed by the Dubai Community Development Authority (CDA) of 10 active members of the Authority's Dhukr Social Club, recently started its work by carrying out a series of humanitarian field visits for patients in hospitals and centers of people in the UAE.

Al-Hammadi pointed out that the selection of the members of the team took into account the diversity in their life specialties, without requiring them to be degree holders, some of whom worked in the sea or land, and some of them in the health or legal field, adding that the presence of the will and determination to volunteer work, was One of the most important conditions that have been observed in the formation of the team.

Al Hammadi stressed the importance of the initiatives of senior citizens, where they harness their energies and skills to serve members of the community, which encouraged and encouraged the Community Development Authority to take advantage of their abilities in the field of volunteer work, especially as the Authority is working to implement many initiatives aimed at the integration of senior citizens in the community, and the participation of the rest Community groups, in various faces and activities of life.

Maryam Al Hammadi:

"By 2050, older people are expected to be about 20% of the world's population."