About 12 million people in Thailand, almost 1 in 5, are aged 60 or over, more than half of them are women. And according to the 2017 Survey of Older Persons, 32% of those in their 80s indicated that their health was poor or very poor.
COVID-19 made itself known in Rwanda in March of this year. The government was quick to respond, by setting up preventive measures and providing food to people who had informal jobs and using media to disseminate information. But older people's heightened risk to COVID-19 was not clear in these media campaigns. Only general messages were given to communities.
HelpAge International has been tracking discrimination against older people related to COVID-19 restrictions throughout the pandemic and has seen examples of age-based measures in at least 48 countries across the globe.
HelpAge International and the Commonwealth Association for the Ageing - CommonAge - announce a formal strategic partnership.
73 people have died due to lack of health care during COVID-19. 850 oxygen gas cylinders redistributed from people who need them for other health conditions to give to COVID-19 patients. 1200 patients unable to access life-saving medical care they desperately need.
Justin Derbyshire, CEO at HelpAge International, responds to the UK Government's announcement that it would be merging the Department for International Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Reports of older people facing: rising abuse in some countries during coronavirus crisis, robberies, kidnapping and domestic violence and being left to die when suffering from COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic is putting ageism well and truly in the spotlight. But civil society is fighting back. I spoke with Prof. Issi (Israel) Doron, who is the head of the Center for Research and Study of Aging at the University of Haifa.
Zanzibar President Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein has signed the Elderly Affairs bill that was passed by the House of Representative in March this year into law.
In response to the UN policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on older people, NGOs highlighted critical gaps that need to be addressed in the UN system in relation to older people.
The monsoon season means that the camps are being hit by heavy rains whilst preparing for the weekend's Eid festivities, slowing COVID-19 preparations at a time when the virus is starting to spread in the camps, exposing older people to risk.
Testing is so difficult in a country like India with such a large population and inadequate health infrastructure. In the absence of active community screening, the numbers reported may be minuscule compared to the real numbers.
