15/03/2023, 18:37 Humanitarian advocacy and policy | Emergencies and humanitarian crises | HelpAge International

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Humanitarian advocacy and policy

Commitment to the principles of humanitarian action requires agencies to deliver assistance

impartially, to focus on the most vulnerable and ensure they are included in assistance. This means
everyone involved in humanitarian response has a responsibility to ensure all those affected,
including older people, receive the assistance to which they are entitled.

Through our humanitarian work, we work with national and international actors to help them fulfil
these commitments by supporting them to adapt their policy and programming to include older
people. 

(c) HelpAge International

There needs to be a greater understanding of older people's needs in humanitarian policy.

When emergencies strike, older men and women are some of the most vulnerable. They are over-
represented in the numbers of people who die, and face specific challenges and risks in meeting their
needs due to their age. 
 

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It is increasingly recognised that older people’s needs are not being adequately addressed in
emergencies. A major consultation conducted for the World Humanitarian Summit concluded there
was a need to "correct the neglect of older people".  

Working with humanitarians to address older people's needs

Addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, including older people, cannot be an afterthought, and
HelpAge is working to contribute to overcoming the risks of marginalisation older people face.  
 
We have identified a number of areas in which change is most needed and are working with
humanitarians to address these: 

1. Data and evidence

Currently many assessments conducted during emergencies do not collect or analyse data on the
number of older people affected by a crisis, or consult older people about their needs. We work with
others to improve data collection practices, and conduct our own assessments so we know how older
people have been affected by crises. We also carry out research to fill gaps in current understanding
of the needs and risks faced by older men and women. 

2. Capacity and guidance

For many humanitarians a lack of understanding of older people’s needs or knowledge of how to
address them is a major challenge. We have developed technical guidelines
(http://www.helpage.org/resources/publications/?
ssearch=&adv=1&topic=3®ion=0&language=0&type=0)  and training materials
(http://www.helpage.org/resources/training/hope-reading/), and we deliver training and provide
technical support. We also second our expert staff to other agencies to ensure they have the
knowledge they need to support older people. Our Age and Disability Capacity Programme
(http://www.helpage.org/what-we-do/emergencies/adcap-age-and-disability-capacity-building-
programme/) (ADCAP) is developing resources, and strengthening individual and organisational
capacity to provide age and disability inclusive humanitarian response.

3. Funding and donor policy

We analysed over 16,000 humanitarian projects between 2010 and 2014 and found that less than
1% (154) had any activity specifically targeting older people. The results of this have been published
in our report, End the neglect: a study of humanitarian financing for older people
(/download/5739e122c3300/) (2.46mb), To address this gap, we work with major humanitarian
donors including DFID, ECHO, USAID and others, to support them to develop guidance for staff and
mechanisms for assessing proposals that will ensure older people’s needs are not forgotten.  

4. Coordination of response
At global and country level, we work closely with UN agencies and National Governments responsible
for the coordination of humanitarian response so they can ensure older people are not neglected in
responses. We have seconded staff to the Global Food Security and Protection Clusters, and work
closely with the Health and Nutrition Clusters. 
 
As a network HelpAge collaborates with a range of humanitarian actors to contribute to addressing
older people’s needs. These partners include specialist disability agencies such as Handicap
International and the Christian Blind Mission, members of the Red Cross Movement, including IFRC

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and ICRC, mainstream NGOs such as Islamic Relief, Concern World Wide and Christian Aid as well as
members of the HelpAge Network.
 

The World Humanitarian Summit and the Inclusion Charter

 
The UN Secretary General set ambitious goals for the World Humanitarian Summit
(https://www.worldhumanitariansummit.org/), calling for “change that inspires global leaders,
international organisations and other stakeholders to assume their responsibilities with a greater
sense of urgency and determination to deliver better for those who need it the most”. 
 
HelpAge has been leading a group of national and international NGOs to support the delivery of
impartial and accountable humanitarian assistance that responds to vulnerability in all its forms
(including children, youth, older people, people with disabilities). 
 
Our Inclusion Charter consists of five steps that can be taken by humanitarian actors to ensure that
assistance reaches those most in need, and supports them to move out of crises and on to a path
toward the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
 
To find out more and to add your agency’s support to the Charter, visit www.inclusioncharter.org
(http://www.inclusioncharter.org).
 
 

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Useful links
Video: End the exclusion of older people with disabilities in emergency responses
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=__77jXoLe8w) 

Older people in displacement: falling through the cracks of emergency responses

(https://www.odi.org/publications/11155-older-people-displacement-falling-through-cracks-
emergency-responses)

The role and vulnerabilities of older people in drought in East Africa: progress, challenges
and opportunities for a more inclusive humanitarian response
(https://www.odi.org/publications/11156-role-and-vulnerabilities-older-people-drought-east-
africa-progress-challenges-and-opportunities-more)

Missing millions: how older people with disabilities are excluded from humanitarian response
(http://www.helpage.org/newsroom/latest-news/millions-of-older-people-with-disabilities-risk-
being-excluded-from-humanitarian-assistance-new-helpage-report-reveals/)

The older refugees from Burundi: Ensuring no one is excluded from help and support in
Tanzania (https://helpage.exposure.co/the-older-refugees-from-burundi)

Violence and discrimination against older women is compounded in emergencies

(http://www.helpage.org/blogs/madeleine-mcgivern-31050/violence-and-discrimination-against-

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older-women-is-compounded-in-emergencies-1066/)

Older voices in humanitarian crises: calling for change

(http://www.helpage.org/download/5730c4e01a6c7) (1.17kb)

End the neglect: a study of humanitarian financing for older people

(http://www.helpage.org/download/5739e122c3300) (2.46mb)

Humanitarian inclusion standards for older people and people with disabilities
(http://www.helpage.org/newsroom/latest-news/new-humanitarian-guidelines-launched-for-
ageing-and-disability-inclusion/)

Rapid Assessment Method for Older People (RAM-OP) (http://www.helpage.org/ram-op/)

(/get-involved/support-help-age/)

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