The Hon. Ashoka Gunasena
Hon. Ashoka Gunasena raised questions to the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment following the launch of the National Policy for Older Persons on 1 October, World Children’s and World Elders’ Day. He emphasized that older persons should be viewed as active contributors to development, cultural transmission and decision-making, rather than passive welfare recipients, and highlighted the need for digital literacy and measures to reduce isolation. He asked for details on the age threshold for older persons, their number and population share, the goals of the new policy, and current and planned government programmes for older persons.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I address the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment.
¶ 02 On 1 October—World Children’s and World Elders’ Day—Sri Lanka launched a National Policy for Older Persons, under the theme “Older Persons Leading Local and Global Action: Our Aspirations, Our Well-Being, Our Rights.” There are misconceptions that social welfare largely serves only older persons, and that elders should be seen as passive recipients akin to children, especially as both days fall together. In fact, elders form a vital, capable knowledge resource, transmit cultural heritage, and can contribute to development. We must engage them, reduce isolation through digital literacy, and include them in decision-making.
¶ 03 I ask:
¶ 04 1) From what age is a person considered an “older person”? 2) What is their total number and percentage of the population? 3) What are the goals of the newly launched National Policy for Older Persons? 4) What programmes are being implemented by the current Government for older persons? 5) What future programmes are planned for older persons?
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 7 October 2025 ·No. 22573 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/9989
Cite as: The Hon. Ashoka Gunasena. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 7 October 2025. No. 22573. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/9989