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West Africa

Learn about HelpAge Network members in West Africa.

Burkina Faso

Promo-Femmes/Developpment Solidarite

Promo-Femmes/Developpment Solidarite (PF/DS) is an NGO established in 1992 in Burkina Faso that promotes democracy and women’s rights, and works to improve access to education, healthcare, food and better living standars.

Promo-Femmes/Developpment Solidarite became a HelpAge global network member in 2016.

Cameroon

Cameroon Association for Elderly Care

ACAMAGE is an NGO officially registered in Cameroon in 2003 and originally founded in 1995.  It works to provide housing, health and nutrition care for the most vulnerable older people.
The organisation campaigns and aims to develop actions to counter abuse, ageism and discrimination against older people, and promotes training, workshops and capacity building. ACAMAGE is active in promoting social pensions for older people working in the informal sector, and providing better value for those working in the formal sector. It has also been working to help abandoned older people in rural areas and develop humanitarian actions such as the provision of food.
ACAMAGE works for older people’s rights by supporting the UN Convention for the Rights of Older People, the ratification of the African Union Protocol for the Rights of Older people and participates in the Africa Stakeholder Group for Ageing.
ACAMAGE became a HelpAge global network member in January 2020.

Community Development Volunteers for Technical Assistance

CDVTA, established in 1998, collaborates with the Cameroon Government on social policy and older people’s issues. It has Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and is involved in advocacy, rights, social inclusion, home care and improving older people’s livelihoods.

CDVTA work is a combination of a grassroots implementation of older people’s clubs and social mobilisation at community level, using 350 community volunteers and a staff of 20. The presence of the clubs, and the improvements they bring to older men and women and the wider community, illustrates what can be done when people claim their rights. It shows that mobilisation is possible, that older people can work together to exercise their rights, and that they can be supported to bring in a consistent income.

A five-year project funding arrangement with UK’s Department for International Development, through All We Can, produced excellent results for CDVTA. It recently developed a five-year strategy aimed at ensuring an inclusive society where older people can live fulfilling lives.

CDVTA was visited by HelpAge in 1999 and became a HelpAge global network member in April 2016.

www.cdvta.org

Moje Foundation

The Moje Foundation is a Cameroonian civil society organisation that promotes better, safer and healthier lives for vulnerable people. It was established in 1996 and works in the field of healthcare, focusing on primary, secondary and tertiary care and ocular diseases for very poor and marginalised people, many of whom are older people.

The foundation is a founding member of the national platform of civil society organisations of Cameroon’s health sector, the Central Technical Group of the Cameroon Health Financing Strategy, the Western Region Health NGO Cluster and the Western Regional Blood Transfusion Committee.

Moje Foundation became a member of the HelpAge global network in November 2018.

The Regional Centre for the Welfare of Ageing Persons

The Regional Centre for the Welfare of Ageing Persons (RECEWAPEC) is a non-governmental, non-profit and non-religious humanitarian organisation, founded in 1990. RECEWAPEC works for the welfare of older people in Cameroon.

RECEWAPEC’s programmes include income-generating activities such as pig farming, bee keeping and palm cultivation. They also support older people’s eyecare projects and have trained six eyecare volunteers,  who are now carrying out outreach eye care on local older people. RECEWAPEC also reach older people and families affected by HIV and AIDS.

In 2011, RECEWAPEC  signed a memorandum of understanding on health for older people with the government of Cameroon through the Ministry of Public Health.

RECEWAPEC took part in the United Nations 54th session of the General Assembly on Ageing in 1999 and in the Second World Assembly on Ageing in 2002. The centre has hosted regional meetings on ageing and social protection in 2006 and 2008 and is a member of the African Civil Society Platform on Social Protection. RECEWAPEC also participates in the HelpAge network Age Demands Action campaign.

RECEWAPEC, together with a group of German colleagues, has created a charity organisation in Germany called Help the Seniors in Cameroon. This organisation has been supporting RECEWAPEC activities since September 2012.

RECEWAPEC became a partner of HelpAge International in 2000 and HelpAge global network member in 2004.

The Gambia

Ageing with a Smile Initiative

ASI is a community based-organisation in the Gambia launched in 2010 to increase the health and social participation of older people in the country. ASI focuses on health, social care, inter-generational dialogue, promoting re-integration into community life, and campaigning through Age Demands Action.

ASI became a HelpAge global network member in 2017.

www.asigambia.weebly.com

Ghana

HelpAge Ghana

Based in Accra, HelpAge Ghana helps organisations in Ghana provide services for older people. It also contributes to the development of national policies and government services for older people.

HelpAge Ghana provides healthcare, shelter, clean clothing and food to older people. They also provide legal advice to enable older people to claim government services. The organisation arranges training for volunteer social workers and encourages local communities to support older people.

HelpAge Ghana is a leading authority on ageing in Ghana, being part of groups working towards the national social protection strategy and pension reforms. HelpAge Ghana is also an active Age Demands Action campaigner.

HelpAge Ghana was established in 1988 and has been a HelpAge global network member since 2004.

Liberia

Center for Community Advancement and Family Empowerment (CECAFE)

The Center for Community Advancement and Family Empowerment (CECAFE) was established in 2014 in Liberia and is an extension of the Social Work Department of the United Methodist University. It stregthens communities to better serve vulnerable social groups, including older people.

At the national level, CECAFE organises national conferences on ageing, campaigns through Age Demands Action and lead the establishment of a national ageing network.

CECAFE has been working and sharing information with HelpAge International since the 2014 Ebola outbreak and became a HelpAge global network member in 2017.

National Senior Citizens Organisation of Liberia

NASCOL is a non-governmental body that was initially set up to address the needs of older people after the war and to ensure their voices were heard in the days of reconstruction and rebuilding of Liberia. Founded in 2006 in the City of Kakata, Margibi County, NASCOL’s vision for the future is their commitment to ensure that older people are not left behind and that they are empowered by positive action and change.

Nigeria

Coalition of Societies for the Rights of Older Persons in Nigeria

COSROPIN is an international NGO established in 2016 in Nigeria to promote the wellbeing of older people. It operates as the national platform for the rights of older people in the country, functioning as a coalition for associations such as civil society organisations, NGOs and faith based organisations who work with ageing and retired groups.
COSROPIN has been advocating and developing policies to engage the Government and stakeholders in Nigeria to address public policy action on ageing at all levels. It works towards eliminating all forms of structural marginalisation, neglect and exclusion.
In 2017, the Government gave the Coalition the responsibility to support them in developing the legal and policy framework for older people. COSROPIN has organised seminars, conferences and activities to promote the wellbeing of older people, including hosting of annual national ageing conferences. COSROPIN became a HelpAge global network member in January 2020.

The Fantsuam Foundation

The Fantsuam Foundation was founded in 1996 and is a registered NGO that works on a number of areas including service provision, advocacy, health and food security.

They work with a number of age-groups including children and older people. The focus on older people is a direct response to the issue of orphans left in the care of unsupported grandparents. Also, the economic consequences of migration has been a strong factor for focusing on older people, as the organisation saw how children and grandparents were left back in the villages, when parents moved to cities for jobs and education.

The lack of care for older people during periods of communal unrest is also a key area of service for Fantsuam Foundation.

Another key work area of the Fantsuam Foundation is therefore to promote social protection.

The Fantsuam Foundation also participated in the MIPAA review in preparation for the Ageing in the 21st Century report. This ensured that the voices of Nigeria’s older people were included in this ground-breaking report.

In 2012, the Fantsuam Foundation became HelpAge’s first HelpAge global network member in Nigeria and is set to play a key role in expanding the HelpAge global network to other countries in West Africa.

www.fantsuam.org

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone Society for the Welfare of the Aged

Sierra Leone Society for the Welfare of the Aged is an NGO founded in 1988 to provide shelter, support and care for older people, and other vulnerable groups, in Sierra Leone. It primarily works through the King George VI Memorial Home. It works to raise public awareness for the welfare and rights of older and vulnerable people.

Current Evangelism Ministries

Established in 1992, Current Evangelism Ministries (CEM) aims to improve the living conditions of vulnerable people by providing social and financial support.

CEM’s programmes are designed in line with Sierra Leone’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which emphasises a decentralised approach to sustainable rural development to promote economic growth.

Areas of work include reproductive healthcare, HIV and AIDS campaigns, micro-finance support for war widows and women in difficult circumstances, and the provision of basic farm tools, fertilisers, animal restocking and chicken rearing.

CEM advocates for older people and children’s rights, builds the capacity of civil society organisations through training, and provides basic education for orphans and excluded children.

In 2010, CEM set up an umbrella organisation, the National Council for the Welfare of the Elderly. This organisation promotes the welfare of older people through advocacy, policy formulation and research.

CEM has been working with HelpAge International since 1992 and became a global network member in 1996.

Togo

Univers de solidarité et de développement (UNI.SOL.D)

UNI.SOL.D is a national NGO established in 2004 in Togo working to alleviate poverty and promote social welfare for older people. It aims to better enable their rights to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.

The organisation works on food security and livelihoods, adult literacy and education, social protection, health care, humanitarian emergencies, disaster risk reduction and mitigation and advocacy. UNI.SOL.D also works to improve life for older people through providing health care medicines and facilitating the donation of clothing and food.

In 2017, UNI.SOL.D partnered with the HelpAge Africa Regional Office in delivering the Older People Consultation – Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing Third Review (MIPAA+15). The organisation has also influenced the process of ratification of the AU protocol by the Government of Togo.

UNI.SOL.D became a HelpAge global network member in January 2020.