A new HelpAge International survey of 300 older refugees fleeing from conflict in Syria, Ukraine and South Sudan found evidence of neglect, poor health provision and feelings of isolation and fear.
More than two-thirds of older refugees in HelpAge’s report Older voices in humanitarian crises said they did not have enough information about the humanitarian assistance available to them. Almost half said health services did not provide care for their age-related conditions, and a similar figure said they felt anxious, hopeless or depressed most or all of the time.
At 11.56am local time, one year ago today, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. Nearly 9,000 people were killed by the tremors, with more than 22,000 left injured. Whole villages were flattened and some 605,000 homes were left destroyed.
Older men and women in Zanzibar will have a government-funded universal pension for the first time today (15 April).
The first government funded universal pension in East Africa is to be launched in Zanzibar this Friday (15 April).
Older activists in Tanzania will today join a global campaign calling for action to tackle the growing health threat caused by diabetes through screening, testing, treatment and education. The actions, taking place on this World Health Day, which is being commemorated under the theme: “Beat Diabetes: Scale up Prevention, Strengthen Care and Enhance Surveillance”, are part of HelpAge International’s annual Age Demands Action campaigns led by older activists from across the world to draw attention to the challenges they face.
On World Health Day 2016 thousands of Age Demands Action campaigners are calling for diabetes to be tackled early through screening, testing, treatment and education.
On World Health Day, 7 April, older campaigners in more than 50 countries will be calling for diabetes, a leading cause of death, to be tackled early through screening, testing, treatment and education. The actions are part of HelpAge International’s Age Demands Action campaign.
As member states, UN agencies and civil society groups gather at the Commission on the Status on Women to promote gender equality, HelpAge International is drawing attention to the lack of data on older women, leaving them vulnerable to violence and discrimination.
HelpAge International is calling for more to be done to end violence and abuse against older women, saying that a lack of data is leaving them at risk.
As the Syria conflict enters its sixth year, HelpAge International will be working to support older refugees by launching a healthcare programme in Lebanon.
Effective humanitarian responses to the Syria crisis must recognise older people’s vulnerabilities, says HelpAge International, as it launches a project to support their healthcare needs on the fifth anniversary of the conflict.
