Senior Citizens’ Rights

In line with the goals of the UAE Centennial Plan 2071, the UAE recognises its responsibility to protect and uphold the rights of senior citizens to guarantee their welfare through initiatives that ensure they are fully supported. These include, inter alia, free healthcare and community involvement schemes to accessible transportation and cultural and entertainment exchange programmes, as well as all the services they need.

In October 2018, the UAE launched its flagship National Policy for Senior Citizens , which aims to improve the quality of life of residents over the age of 60 via specific initiatives to guarantee key protections including: the right to social care, the right to medical care and the right to independence and privacy.

In 2019, the UAE passed its Federal Law No. 9 on the Rights of Senior Emiratis, which codified the rights of senior citizens to enjoy fundamental freedoms, as guaranteed by the Constitution. This includes protecting access to quality housing, education and work, where applicable, as well as ensuring safeguards against violence, abuse and neglect.

The UAE aligns its efforts to protect the rights of senior citizens with international frameworks and principles, such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which commits to upholding the “inherent dignity” and “equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family”. To this end, the UAE’s efforts to protect the rights of senior citizens is aligned with the country’s wider ambitions to cater for all segments of UAE society.

As a result of the UAE’s efforts, senior citizens are among the happiest in society, scoring 7.75 out of 10 in a happiness index calculated by the Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi in October 2021. The index measured satisfaction across key metrics including housing, time spent with families and friends, as well as levels of safety, security and comfort.

National Policy For Senior Citizens

Unveiling a countrywide policy to protect the rights of senior citizens, in 2018 the UAE launched its National Policy for Senior Citizens – a comprehensive programme to ensure elderly residents remain active and enjoy full and equal participation in society.

The policy includes seven main components, which span healthcare, community involvement and active life, civic participation, Infrastructure & transportation, financial stability, safety and security, and quality of life.

Healthcare

The healthcare pillar outlines measures to safeguard senior citizens’ rights to free, quality healthcare, in line with UAE laws. To this end, the UAE has launched several initiatives to promote the health and wellbeing of elderly nationals, including:

A comprehensive rehabilitation and training programme for caregivers.

An initiative to promote collaboration between local authorities and the private sector to ensure senior citizens have guaranteed access to healthcare services across the country.

The installation of mobile clinics and the “Doctor for Every Citizen” smart service, which enables senior citizens rapid access to health services.

Community engagement

The community engagement pillar outlines a commitment to supporting intergenerational dialogue and knowledge transfer, as well as rolling out initiatives to enable senior citizens to fully participate in society.

From tech and IT training courses, to sports clubs and social and cultural centres, the UAE is committed to promoting a sense of community and belonging among senior citizens, as well as providing the necessary skills and training to enable elderly residents to fully participate in modern life.

Some of the greatest success has come with the roll out of an IT training programme, which teaches senior citizens how to use and incorporate modern technologies in their daily lives. More than 63,000 senior citizens have benefited from the training so far.

Civic participation

Recognising the valuable contributions that elderly people make to their communities, the civic participation pillar seeks to spotlight the successes of senior citizens and hold them up as role models in society. As part of this initiative, a programme was launched to invite retired citizens in various fields to share their expertise in work and education, and shed light on their outsized contributions.

Infrastructure & transportation

To ensure the UAE’s cities and towns are fully equipped to meet the needs of senior citizens, the infrastructure and transportation pillar resulted in issuing guidelines at a federal and emirate level to promote accessibility. The pillar also includes a commitment to provide special discounted rates for senior citizens on public transport.

Financial stability

The financial stability pillar includes initiatives that support entrepreneurial endeavours by senior citizens, and rewards proactive efforts to achieve financial stability by opening or operating businesses.

As part of this pillar, the UAE launched initiatives such as the Dubai Retiree Projects Support programme in February 2024, which provides senior citizens financial backing for new business projects, a five-year exemption from services fees and priority consideration for government projects.

Safety & security

The safety and security pillar outlines safeguards to protect senior citizens. As part of this, for example, training programmes were launched to help senior citizens detect abuse and violence. A dedicated hotline to report abuses and share complaints is also available.

Quality of future life

This pillar reflects the UAE’s overarching commitment to providing senior citizens with a good quality of life – from developing cultural and entertainment exchange programmes to enabling senior citizens to use their Emirates ID card to access a variety of discounts at hotels, private clinics, home care centres and tourism and travel companies.

As part of this work, the Ministry of Community Development launched its “Badak Shabab” initiative and the Ajman Customer Happiness Centre supply shelter service for senior citizens who lack family support.

Support during Covid-19

During the Covid-19 pandemic, senior citizens regardless of their nationality received quality healthcare, which included home examination services and access to vaccines. Critically, however, support extended far beyond healthcare during this period.

To tackle loneliness, the UAE launched its ‘We Are Your Family’ initiative, which invited volunteers to make phone calls to senior citizens to check on their welfare and wellbeing. In total, an overwhelming 14,449 calls were made. The programme, in cooperation with the General Sports Authority, also provided senior citizens 115 pieces of sports equipment to promote exercise and healthy lifestyles.

The Ministry of Community Development, in cooperation with the Federal Youth Foundation, also launched its ‘Guide to Caring for Senior Emiratis During Pandemics’, which outlined ways that young people could support senior citizens during lockdowns to promote intergenerational ties.