World Health Day 2014: Campaign for universal health coverage
This World Health Day, 7 April, campaigners in 40 countries are taking part in our Age Demands Action on Health campaign to call for universal health coverage.
News
World Health Day 2014: Life expectancy decreasing or static for 76 million people – Age Demands Action on universal healthcare
76 million older people around the world are being excluded from vital healthcare, with life expectancy at 60 decreasing or static in 38 out of 194 countries, says HelpAge International’s campaigning network Age Demands Action on World Health Day (7 April).
Sad loss of a friend and colleague
We are very sorry that Francisco Roque, our Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean and a member of our leadership group, died on 24 March 2014 after a short illness.
Syria, three years on: Older refugees in exile
It's been three years since the war began in Syria. Currently, around 72,000 Syrian refugees are aged over 60. In conflict situations, older people are among the most vulnerable, with specific needs that must be taken into account.
Syria three years on: Older refugees in exile, the silent casualties
On the third anniversary of the start of the Syrian conflict, HelpAge International is highlighting the plight of the civil war’s “silent casualties”: the invisible victims of the war who have succumbed both in Syria and also in host countries to what were previously manageable chronic illnesses.
HelpAge España hosts event to promote older people’s rights
On 20 February in Madrid, our Affiliate HelpAge España is hosting an event to officially launch a committee in support of a UN convention on the rights of older people. The committee is formed of the 17 most important civil society organisations in Spain currently working on human rights and age related issues.
Global population ageing key topic at UN meeting
This year’s Commission for Social Development (CSocD) opened yesterday at the United Nations in New York. The priority theme this year is "promoting empowerment of people in achieving poverty eradication, social integration and full employment and decent work for all".
Typhoon Haiyan, three months on: Aid reaches 50,000 people
HelpAge International and partners in the Philippines have helped almost 50,000 people in the three months since Typhoon Haiyan hit on 7 November 2013. As well as providing direct help to older people, we have been raising awareness of the needs of people over 60 who are routinely neglected in emergency responses.
HelpAge supports older farmers in the Philippines
HelpAge has distributed around 3,500 bags of rice seed and more than 2,000 bags of fertiliser to farmers in the Philippines who who lost their crops and livelihoods in Typhoon Haiyan.
Cash assistance gets older Syrians back on their feet
HelpAge International, in partnership with Handicap International, is working in Lebanon and Jordan where there are more than 35,000 Syrian refugees aged 60 or over. Our work is funded by Age International and the Disasters Emergencies Committee (DEC) and includes direct cash assistance to vulnerable refugees and families living in urban areas in Jordan.
Christmas in the Philippines: Together as a community
On 22 December, HelpAge and its partner Coalition of Services for the Elderly (COSE) and Mercy Malaysia organised a Christmas party at the Ormoc District Hospital. Children sang carols and all generations joined in playing games and dancing. HelpAge Santas handed out gift baskets of fruits, biscuits, chocolates, balloons and toys to inpatients and a Christmas packed lunch was distributed.
HelpAge and partners distribute aid to 40,000 people in the Philippines
HelpAge and its local partner, Coalition of Services to the Elderly (COSE), have now distributed food aid to more than 40,000 of the most vulnerable people in 28 hard hit communities in the area around Ormoc City on Leyte Island.