Citation
(2000), "New guidelines on humanitarian emergencies call for older people "to be seen, heard and understood", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 9 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2000.07309dab.010
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2000, MCB UP Limited
New guidelines on humanitarian emergencies call for older people "to be seen, heard and understood"
New guidelines on humanitarian emergencies call for older people "to be seen, heard and understood"
HelpAge International has published new guidelines that aim to assist humanitarian agencies working with older people in disasters and humanitarian crises. They suggest practical ways to meet older people's needs and to recognise their potential in emergency situations. Older People in Disasters and Humanitarian Crises: Guidelines for Best Practice, was launched on 12 April 2000.
Even before disaster strikes, many older people in developing countries are marginalised. Their numbers are growing as people live longer. In most humanitarian crises, older people, particularly older women, form a significant proportion of those at risk. They are often ignored, left behind or isolated in dangerous or life threatening situations.
Most aid agencies recognise older people as a vulnerable group in emergencies but rarely assign them the priority given, for example, to children. Humanitarian organisations frequently lack the particular expertise and capacity to address older people's needs. This can result in unnecessary hardship.
The guidelines were developed by HelpAge International on the basis of research conducted with support from the European Union Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and the High Commission for Refugees. The research drew on HelpAge International's 20 years of experience of working in humanitarian emergencies and on four field studies conducted in Bangladesh, Bosnia, the Dominican Republic and Rwanda.
The full document can be viewed at www.helpage.org and will be available in English, French and Spanish.
For further details contact: Jane Scobie or Sarah Graham-Brown, HelpAge International, 67-74 Saffron Hill, London, ECIN 8QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7402 7201; Fax: +44 (0) 20 7404 7203; E-mail: press@helpage.org