{
  "id": 12851042,
  "title": "Suqoon urges action to close 60–70 protection gap",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/suqoon-urges-action-to-close-60-70-protection-gap",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-08T10:34:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Capital FM Kenya",
    "slug": "capital-fm-kenya",
    "url": "https://capitalfm.africa/suqoon-urges-action-to-close-60-70-protection-gap/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nairobi, Kenya - In a call for action to address a critical gap in the country's social protection system, Suqoon Founder Shakira Khawaja urged the government to close the gap between recognizing individuals as older adults at 60 and providing them with the Older Persons Cash Transfer at 70. Speaking at the Fourth Kenya Social Protection Conference, Khawaja emphasized the need for the country's expanding social protection system to offer earlier support to safeguard older people's health, income, independence, and dignity. She called for a clear pathway to bridge the decade-long protection gap for older people, stating that they worked hard for longer lives and now must ensure their systems are ready for those extended lives. Khawaja's advocacy comes as Kenya's older population is expected to surge from 2.9 million currently to 6.4 million by 2045. Suqoon, a Kenyan Public Benefit Organisation, is advocating for preventive measures to address risks that could result in a loss of health, mobility, income, or independence among older people. The organization is working with partners like Safaricom and the Chandaria Foundation to modify older people's homes to reduce the risk of falls, highlighting that these interventions are health, caregiver, and social protections in one. Khawaja also urged Parliament to pass the Older Persons Bill, 2024, and for the government to consider social protection and healthcare together, as small interventions can prevent health problems from spiraling into broader economic and social crises.",
  "summary": "Khawaja called for earlier support to protect older people’s health, income, independence and dignity.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}