It said 14 percent of those who took part in the survey about “the rights of the old and their treatment in the society” considered the services to be satisfactory while only 10 percent termed them as excellent.

According to official statistics, there are 1.03 million old men and women in the Kingdom constituting about five percent of the entire population.

The society called for giving utmost care to old people who “spent their lives in giving and making sacrifice for their loved ones” and said the old deserve the best of services by the government and the citizens.

The Ministry of Social Affairs has established 10 old people homes in various parts of the Kingdom including Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, Taif, Dammam, Abha, Onaiza, Wadi Al-Dawasir and Al-Jouf.

According to official reports, about 90 percent of the old men and women in these homes have no families or close relatives to take care of them or provide them with accommodation.

The Saudi private sector has also been making efforts to take care of the old. In this connection, the Al-Bir welfare society has established a home in Jeddah that accommodates about 64 people. “The society is currently accommodating 16 old women,” said Mazen Batarji, chairman of the board of directors of the society.

He said in addition to accommodation, the home also provides the old with health care and organizes a number of cultural and entertainment programs for them.

“The society has developed programs that would bring joy and happiness to the old women with emphasis on the religious, cultural and entertainment programs,” he said.