Support healthy ageing

Non-Communicable Diseases are the leading cause of death and disability globally, and older people are disproportionately affected.

HelpAge International has announced the appointment of Rhea Tariq as its new Director of Global Impact.

With the close of 2023 approaching, we take a moment to reflect on our endeavours this year.

As we mark World Food Day on 16 October, we take a look at the challenges facing older people in low- and middle-income countries as they struggle to fulfill one of the most essential of human rights: the right to food.

This blog has been penned by Cherian Mathews, on his appointment as CEO of HelpAge International.

Health and care systems worldwide are unprepared for a world where, by 2030, the global population aged 60 or over is projected to reach 1.4 billion, with the majority being female

Barriers older people face to enjoying their right to health and how we can drive progress.

Mental health - Reflections on the challenges older people face after months of the Ukraine war.

The significant gaps in the global health ecosystem were no secret prior to the pandemic. But the COVID-19 pandemic truly exposed that this is much more than a gap. It is a vast chasm of health inequality.

The WHO global estimates on excess deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic raise many uncomfortable truths about how we as a global community value the lives of older people and those in low- and middle-income countries.

As Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesuson is re-elected as Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), HelpAge International Chef Executive, Justin Derbyshire, called oh him to ensure the vision of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing delivers real benefit for older people.

HelpAge calls on the WHO to do more to address the continuing inequity of global vaccine distribution which is exposing millions of those most in need to unnecessary risk.

The vaccination programme in Russia is marred in controversy and not universally popular. Confidence in the vaccines is low and the government is resorting to the use of carrots and sticks to encourage people to get vaccinated.

In Kyrgyzstan, HelpAge network member, Resource Centre for Elderly (RCE), is running a vaccination awareness campaign and helping the government reach all older people. Svetlana Bashtovenko, head of RCE, shares her experience on vaccination roll-out in Kyrgyzstan.

We spoke with Sanju Thapa Magar (Ageing Nepal, HelpAge Network member) about the problems that older peole are facing in the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, and access to vaccines.

A new study shows that the coronavirus pandemic has made it even harder for older refugees and other forcibly displaced people to feed themselves and keep a roof over their heads.

The second wave of COVID-19 is devastating India. GRAVIS and HelpAge India are stepping up to the challenge across the nation.

The decision by the US government to support a TRIPS waiver on the patents protecting Covid-19 vaccines could be a game-changer in the campaign to ensure equitable distribution of the vaccine around the world.

Older people must be at the heart of the Decade if we are to ensure that their rights are recognised by decisionmakers at community, country, regional and global levels.

HelpAge Jordan designed a programme to support and protect older people based on the HRP strategic priority: Protect, Assist, and Advocate. This project was supported by the Basic Needs Cluster and the Ministry of Planning and Jordanian Emergency Response.

The COVID-19 pandemic affects all of us but has the greatest impact on those already experiencing poverty, poor health and discrimination.

According to WHO data published in the latest update, adults aged 60 years account for 15.4 per cent of cases in the countries included in the humanitarian response plan and fatalities rise steadily with age.

Most at risk are the almost 5,000 older migrants living in La Guajira. According to a survey of the region - carried out by HelpAge in January 2020 - 84% of them have no handwashing facilities and 78% have no access to safe drinking water. This has not improved since the outbreak of COVID and creates serious obstacles to protecting a population at risk from the virus.

The Federal Government of Ethiopia ratified the African Union (AU) Protocol on the rights of older people on 9 July 2020, becoming the third country to do so after Lesotho and Benin. The decision is commendable by Ethiopia's government.

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.

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.

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.

Member States called for access to safe testing, treatment, and palliative care for COVID-19, with particular attention to older people, in a resolution that was unanimously adopted.

In response to the global crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, community volunteers, local civil society groups, and major Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have joined forces to demand a 12 point plan from world leaders.

We must do everything we can to prevent the number of positive COVID-19 cases spiralling out of control. It is now vital that the government and humanitarian agencies work together to step up testing facilities. There are currently no such facilities in the camps and the nearest one is 30km away.

Older people are expected to keep themselves safe at home to avoid the risk of contracting COVID-19, but many of them still depend on going out to work in order to put a meal on the table or buy other essentials.

Zafor Alam (62) lives in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. He normally earns a daily wage of 500 taka ($6 US) by selling tea and biscuits but has not been able to earn a single taka since the lockdown was enforced in April.

With the confirmation of the first COVID-19 cases in Myanmar on 23 March, thousands of older people's lives are now at risk if the outbreak is not kept under control. The Government and society must do all it can to educate citizens on the risks and how to prevent infection, according to HelpAge International.

Governments must ensure that older people and their right to health are protected if coronavirus - or Covid 19 - takes hold in low and middle income countries, HelpAge International said today.

More than 80% of those who have died from coronavirus - or Covid-19 - in China have been aged over 60, according to the National Health Commission of China, identifying older people as the age group most at risk from the disease.

HelpAge International and AARP launch Global AgeWatch Insights reports focusing on Tanzania and Vietnam, looking at the right to health and access to universal health coverage for older people.

As the global population ages, health systems need to adapt to ensure older women and men can realise their right to health, new Global AgeWatch Insights report reveals

Older people explore their right to be able to make their own decisions and live their lives according to their own values and preferences in a new HelpAge International report launched on World Health Day 2018.

The provision of and older people's access to health services across Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe is wholly inadequate, a new report from HelpAge International and Age International has found.

HelpAge International has organised a two-day high-level regional meeting on data disaggregation in Dar es Salaam on 9-10 February 2017. The meeting will encourage key stakeholders drawn from South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe to recognise the need to include older people during collection, analysis and reporting of data on prevalence, prevention, care and treatment of HIV.

UNAIDS is calling for a comprehensive strategy to respond to the increasing long-term health care costs associated with older people who have HIV.

By 2030, 1.4 billion people will be aged 60 or over. Yet we remain unprepared for population ageing and shifting patterns of disease and disability.

Non-Communicable Diseases including mental health and neurological conditions (NCDs) are the leading cause of death and disability globally.

UHC has a key role to play in achieving a more gender-equal world.

What older people say about their right to health.

Key calls for governments on UHC.