Elderly people in disasters and humanitarian crisis

Guidelines for best practice

HelpAge International is a global network of not-for-profit organisations with a mission to work with and for disadvantaged older people worldwide to achieve a lasting improvement in the quality of their lives. It has over 20 years' experience of working with and for older people in development projects and emergencies.

Recently, HelpAge International published the New Guidelines aimed to assist agencies working with older people in disasters and humanitarian crises. Older people in disasters and humanitarian crises: Guidelines for best practice suggests practical ways to meet older people's needs and to recognise their potential in emergency situations.

Older people consistently ask:

• To be seen, heard and understood.
• To have equal access to essential support services.
• To have their potential and contributions recognised, valued and supported.

Older people identified the following as key issues and needs in an emergency:

• Basic needs
• Mobility
• Health
• Family and social
• Economic and legal
  

The guidelines are:

1. Addressing older people's needs
   The first key principle of good practice is to be aware of the presence of older people in an emergency and take active steps to locate and identify them. It is important that at all stages of the process, older people themselves should be consulted directly on actions to be taken.
   
   
2. Meeting basic needs
   Older people have identified basic needs, among them: building materials (in case their houses have collapsed), food, help to collect fuel, ways to share cooking arrangements with neighbors, clothing, blankets, kitchen equipment and a raised sleeping area to avoid joint and muscle pain caused by sleeping on the ground.
   
   
3. Mobility
   
   The research identified four main problems:
   
   a. Incapacity; older people are left behind or are unable to gain access to essential services.
   
   b. Older people are sometimes unable to climb into trucks, or are slower than others and get left behind.
   
   c. Where there are no regular transport facilities, older people may not be able to reach essential services.
   
   d. Some older people are disabled by the loss of mobility aids, prostheses and spectacles in the emergencies while others need physiotherapy and exercise opportunities to reduce joint and muscle pain.
   
   
4. Equal access to essential services
   Where the problems of isolation, lack of mobility and physical strength or trauma make it difficult for older people to access essential services, it is necessary to adapt these services to preserve equity of provision.
   
   
5. Social, psychosocial and family needs
   Older people identified the social and psychological traumas that afflict them as a consequence of a disaster. Separation from, or loss of, family members leads to isolation and loss of support. Also, the destruction of social structures may cause loss of family and community support and loss of respect for older people as cultural and social values break down. Older people find they need protection against theft and sexual and physical abuse.
   
   
6. Recognise and support the contributions of older people
   Older people's responsibilities and knowledge base should be recognised and build on. They also want to challenge the common image held of them as disabled, unproductive and dependent, and to establish a more balanced view of both their needs and capacities.
   

For further information please contact:

HelpAge International
67-74 Saffron Hill
London EC1N 8Qx
United Kingdom
Tel. 44 (0) 20 7404 7201
Fax 44 (0) 20 7404 7203
Email: cdobbing@helpage.org
http://www.helpage.org

Top