SUKKUR  -  Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Inter Global Human Development Society (IGHDS), Advocate Jameel Ahmed Shakeel has said that Climate change poses a significant threat to older people. He was speaking at the day-long workshop, titled “Climate Change and Older Farmers of Sindh”, said a release on Thursday.

He said that climate change directly or indirectly affects all human beings, adding that the national climate strategies must take into account the capabilities, rights and vulnerabilities of older people. Full participation of people of all ages in these strategies is essential to make them successful, he said. At present, he said that there are 11 million old people in Pakistan and the number will increase in the next 20 to 25 years. Most of them face health issues since we lack good health facilities in the country, said the CEO IGHDS.

Current year so many people lost their lives across northern Sindh including Karachi and Hyderabad due to heatwave and most of the victims were elderly people. Speaking about IGHDS, Chief Coordination Officer Nosheen Jameel Khan said that it works to provide a respectable life to the old people. Government officials and employees of some other institutions get pensions after retirement. However, labourers and farmers do not get any such benefits, he said.

Maqsood Imam said that they engage in advocacy with the government in connection with climate change, especially for the older people who work in agricultural fields. Bakhtawar Nazir said that global warming started back in the 1880s, but it has gained momentum since 1950 onwards, she said. Natural disasters including, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, thunderstorms, earthquakes, and heat waves are increasing with climate change.