NATIONAL Council Chairperson Margaret Mensah-Williams says only 19% of the country's population has medical aid cover.

She made these remarks in a statement read on her behalf by pastor Zelda van der Colff during the launch of the Namibia Old Age Helpfund (Noah) casual day last week.

Noah is a non-profit organisation that helps by contributing towards medical expenses for elderly citizens above 60 years who do not belong to any medical aid fund.

The primary objective of the organisation is to improve the quality of life of Namibia's elderly people.

Mensah-Williams said there is a need to assist elderly citizens in the country to acquire medical aid funds for their medical treatment as only a fraction of them were covered.

She added that the assistance to elderly people would be crucial because most of them were also "vulnerable to treatable and manageable medical conditions at a time when the human body is arguably at its most medically susceptible".

"With so many senior citizens unable to afford medical aid and on a fixed income, which is not enough to adequately cover for medical expenses, welfare organisations like Noah become very important," she said.

Gerhard Maasdorp of Noah said casual day, to be held on 28 September, is meant to raise awareness about the fund "so that all elderly Namibians know where they can obtain assistance for their medical expenses".

The organisation assists elderly people to also acquire items such as glasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs and walking frames.

For last year, the organisation has assisted 146 senior citizens in acquiring various items at a combined cost of N$158 000. Noah currently has 94 pending applications from elderly people to obtain glasses, hearing aids and wheelchairs.

Maasdorp said the funds to be collected from this year's casual daywill be used to acquire these items.