Tackling Age Discrimination in Healthcare

In 2016, Namati health advocate Davide de Conceição began hearing troubling reports from elderly patients at a busy health center in Inhambane Province. Despite the Ministry of Health’s policy prioritizing elderly care, many older patients were being neglected or mistreated.
71-year-old Rosita’s story was all too familiar: "We were treated poorly. We were forgotten. I'd leave my house at 4:30 a.m. to reach the health center by 6:00 a.m., but often I wouldn’t be seen until 11:00 a.m. They had no respect for us. They would say, 'You're practically dead. Why are you here? You're just taking up space.'"
Davide witnessed this mistreatment firsthand, recognizing the dangerous consequences. Elderly patients subjected to long waits and cruel remarks were often discouraged from seeking future care, endangering their health and wellbeing.
Davide partnered with the village health committee to launch a multi-pronged response. They organized sensitization sessions for health workers, helping them understand not just the policy requirements, but the medical reality: elderly patients often have complex, urgent needs that worsen rapidly without attention.
They went door-to-door, educating older community members about their rights – that health policy was on their side, that priority care wasn't a favor but an entitlement. They held public talks at the health center.
But their most transformative intervention was disarmingly simple: they advocated for a dedicated bench, clearly marked for elderly patients and those who are critically ill. This straightforward solution made it easy for health staff to identify priority patients and ensure they received timely care.
Wait times for elderly patients dropped dramatically, and complaints of mistreatment virtually disappeared. The health center's leadership took notice. If something so simple could transform care quality, why not expand it?
They introduced the dedicated bench system to surrounding health centers across the district. What began as one advocate's response to one patient's suffering became standard practice throughout the region.
Today, more elderly patients like Rosita are receiving the care they deserve. The bench remains, a quiet testament to a fundamental truth: dignity requires minimal investment but makes all the difference.