The Government is moving to protect the rights, privacy, independence, and dignity of older persons throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
The Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness tabled The Older Persons Rights, Protections, Care and Support Bill (2026), in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
“This is legislation whose time has come. It is rooted in a very simple thought that growing older must never mean becoming less valued, less visible, less protected or less entitled to dignity.
“Ageing is not somebody else’s issue. It is one of the few public policy matters that, if we are blessed with longevity, will eventually touch every one of us,” Dr. Darville said.
He noted that The Bahamas, like the world, is experiencing a clear demographic shift. According to the 2022 Census, the number of persons aged 65 years and older rose by 28.2 percent since 2010.
In The Government’s Blueprint for Progress, it made a commitment to strengthening protections for older persons. And, this Bill gives practical expression to that commitment. But there is also a wider context.
Furthermore, in 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Council established an Intergovernmental Working Group charged with developing a legally binding international instrument on the human rights of older persons. Its first substantive negotiating session was held in Geneva in July of this year.
In this vein, Dr. Darville said that The Bahamas brings this Bill at an important moment.
“While the international community is negotiating what a future global legal instrument should contain, The Bahamas is moving now with legislation that goes beyond a declaration of principles,” he said.
“This Bill recognizes older persons as rights-holders. But it also recognizes that rights written on paper mean little if there is no machinery to make them real.”
Provisions under the Bill establish in law the rights of older persons, including dignity, equality, privacy, autonomy, participation, financial self-management and access to healthcare and public services.
Secondly, it confronts abuse and abandonment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological and emotional abuse, neglect and abandonment.
“These are expressly prohibited. For far too long older persons have been abandoned at hospitals with no recourse. This ends today,” Dr. Darville stated.
The Bill also permits anonymous reporting of suspected abuse and protects persons who make reports in good faith. Certain healthcare, social service, law enforcement and other professionals will have a statutory duty to report where
they reasonably suspect that an older person requires care and protection.
And thirdly, this Bill confronts an abuse that can sometimes remain hidden behind family relationships — financial exploitation, Dr. Darville said.
He added, “Taking an older person’s pension. Misusing their bankcard. Coercing them to transfer property. Manipulating a will. Using their National Insurance benefit for purposes other than their welfare. Preventing them from accessing their own money. These matters are specifically addressed in this legislation, with financial exploitation attracting serious penalties.”
The Bill is about support, by providing for the development of a National Older Persons Policy within 12 months, with priority given to a National Dementia Strategy.
“It promotes community nursing, home-based care and older persons’ day-care services, because where it is safe and appropriate, we should help our older persons remain independent, connected to their communities and supported in familiar surroundings,” Dr. Darville said.
The Bill further recognizes the tremendous responsibility carried by caregivers and provides for caregiver training and support, among other things. “It incorporates the needs of older persons into disaster preparedness, response, relief and recovery. And importantly, it rejects the idea that retirement means irrelevance,” Dr. Darville said.
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