CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE __________________________________________________________________________ every elderly woman is suspected to be a witch. All of this contributes to the isolation of elderly women25. 332. Until 1996, the authorities had not shown real interest in the plight of elderly people. It was in that year that some measures were taken and a ministry in charge of the family was created. This ministry has a department in charge of the elderly, but the lack of human and material resources remains a challenge. As a result of these constraints, it is often difficult to identify the needs, concerns and specific problems of the elderly. 333. The new Individual and Family Code has made significant strides in the inheritance law for widows and widowers. It has also made provision for improving the plight of widows. Generally, however, social practice is very different from law. In order to address these deficiencies, the government developed a national action plan for the “active ageing”, with the collaboration of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in 2006. The objectives of this plan are to promote the good health and welfare of the elderly, to reduce their poverty levels from 33.4% to 17% by 2016, to discourage the social exclusion of elderly people, and to improve the socioeconomic and demographic awareness about elderly people and their differing gender needs. Implementing this plan requires human and material resources, which seem to be lacking. iii. Recommendations of the APR Panel 334. The APR Panel recommends that government should: 25  Promote a more active integration of refugees, in partnership with the UN.  Develop a strategy for the promotion and protection of the disabled.  Strengthen the fight against the culture of rejection of disabled children through sensitisation and education, and take severe action against the murderers of newborns.  Strengthen health structures for the diagnosis and early screening of diseases likely to lead to disability, and for antenatal medical tests.  Ensure decent living conditions for the disabled, whose reduced intellectual or physical capabilities hamper their self-sufficiency and increase their dependency on family resources.  Strengthen community life and revitalise associations fighting for the promotion and protection of the disabled.  Speed up the implementation of the national action plan for active ageing. National action plan for active ageing (2007-2016), developed by the MFE. 127