Across Africa, millions of older people live in poverty. Without access to pensions and eroding traditions of family support, many have no choice but to continue working into older age doing small-scale, low-paid farming or petty trade. For those who have disabilities or are in ill health, they may have no option to work. Without reliable incomes, older people lead precarious lives on the brink of poverty.

Social pensions are key to addressing this. They have great potential to reduce poverty, improve older people’s access to healthcare and restore dignity through financial independence.

Social protection in Uganda

In 2011, the Uganda Government, in partnership with the UK Department for International Development, Irish Aid and the United Nations Children’s Fund, launched the Senior Citizens Grant as part of the wider Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE). It is a non-contributory social pension of 25,000 Ugandan shillings (US$7) a month.

In the first districts it was introduced, all older people above the age of 65 were eligible for the scheme, except in Karamoja where the age of eligibility was lowered to 60 years to reflect the lower life expectancy. After reaching more than 100,000 older people, the Government rolled it out to an additional 40 districts, although in these areas only the 100 oldest people in each sub-county are eligible. As of June 2019, more than 160,000 older people had been enrolled onto the scheme.

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