1. Uganda Reach the Aged Association
EXPERIENCES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR BILATERAL COOPERATION ON THE RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS: THE CASE OF UGANDA REACH THE AGED ASSOCIATION AND HELPAGE INTERNATIONAL By
David Obot
Chairman, Board of Directors,
Uganda Reach the Aged Association

2. UGANDA REACH THE AGED ASSOCIATION
URAA is a national voluntary, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization
Vision: “A dignified, self-fulfilled, poverty free ageing Uganda”
Mission: “To champion the realization and perseveration of a dignified quality of life for older persons in Uganda”.
URAA is a registered NGO and an affiliate of HelpAge International

3. QUESTION
What experiences and opportunities for bilateral cooperation exist for the Uganda Reach the Aged Association (URAA) and HelpAge International on older persons issues in Uganda and beyond?

4. Genesis of Bilateral Cooperation
Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, a founder member, attended a conference around 1990s that exposed him to the activities of HelpAge International, particularly its relevance to the protection of older persons’ human rights.
Having been inspired, he mobilised some older persons & formed URAA to follow the line of HelpAge work in Uganda

5. ACHIEVEMENTS URAA institutional capacity development
Participatory research, knowledge building and information sharing
Contributions to national policy development
Campaigns and collaborative focus on issues of older persons
Project support, community linkage, accountability enhancement
Joint NGO shadow report to CEDAW on older women’s rights
Development partners' confidence on URAA.

6. CHALLENGES
The slow process at the international level towards a legally binding UN Convention on Rights of Older Persons
Inadequate awareness about gerontology and geriatrics issues.
Persistent violation of the rights of older persons due to vulnerability
High expectations from the older persons in Uganda amidst scarce resources

7. OPPORTUNITIES
Advocacy for policy influencing & improving legal protection of older persons at various levels
Evidence based research and learning at national to international levels.
Increasing knowledge and encouraging countries to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate social protection policies.

8. CONCLUSION
Bilateral cooperation is best for collectively working on important issues of human rights protection amidst the highly competitive resources available globally

9. THANK YOU