15 February 2021
A dramatic drop in state and donor funding coupled with escalating Covid-19 expenses has left Durban’s The Association for the Aged (Tafta) — which cares for nearly 5,500 pensioners — struggling financially.
Its plight has prompted Tafta to appeal to funders and corporates to “dig deep to help the aged in their care as the organization battles to close its deficit funding gap”.
According to CEO Femada Shamam, Tafta receives a state subsidy that covers about 7% of an elderly person’s needs. In addition Tafta has been receiving 50% of its usual funding allocation from the state for its service centres.
Tafta has to fund a 64% shortfall in care costs for elders in its care, after an elder’s pension contribution and the department of social development subsidy it receives for care. Shamam said the deficit is set to grow to about R26m this year “due to a difficult fundraising environment and ongoing Covid care costs”.
Shamam said if they cannot reach out to vulnerable elders in the eThekwini region, almost 5,500 elders will be affected. Adding that the affected elders depend on Tafta for their meals, community care and social support.
Adapted from Sowetanlive
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