Recognizing Older Persons in Humanitarian Efforts
Before the age of cell-phone videos and instantaneous Twitter news, the old adage "out of sight, out of mind" made it easy to ignore major disasters like the recent floods in my home state of South Carolina. With the 24/7 media coverage, the risks and dangers are in front of us constantly and the images seem shocking and incomprehensible. Certainly no one who lived through this experience will forget it; but how can we make sure the next disaster doesn't yield so many casualties?
On October 13, people all around the world will celebrate the International Day of Disaster Reduction, a day when communities build awareness about the importance of reducing risks and dangers in disasters by being prepared ahead of time. Emergency preparedness plans can save lives - particularly in communities that experience chronic natural disasters. However, plans only work when they account for the needs of everyone -- including older people and people with disabilities.
Natural disasters have a disproportionate impact on older people. In the Japanese Tsunami of 2011, 56% of those who died were aged 65 and over although they only comprised 23% of the population. Similarly, 75% of those who died in Hurricane Katrina in the US in 2005 were aged 60 or over; while representing only 16% of the local population. As populations continue to age, this phenomenon will only increase.
Older people can be acutely vulnerable in emergencies due to lack of mobility, chronic health conditions and isolation from the community. These constraints can reduce their capacity to prepare for disasters, as they may struggle to stockpile food and water, or to travel long distances to flee harm's way. When infrastructure is compromised by disasters, older people and people with disabilities are often left to fend for themselves, unable to get to distribution centers or health clinics.
As a recipient of the Hilton Humanitarian Prize in 2012, HelpAge was recognized for our work to amplify and address the specific needs of older people during humanitarian emergencies. Since then, we've expanded our capacity to respond directly to crises and disasters in places like Nepal, the Philippines, Syria and Ukraine. Through these emergencies and other forums, we've led in a global discourse on why people needing specific assistance must be included in humanitarian responses. Moreover, we've demonstrated that risk factors for older people persist before and after emergencies occur, validating the need for a specialized response in areas like nutrition, psychosocial care and management of non-communicable diseases, like hypertension or diabetes.
There have been some encouraging developments in the past year like the Disaster Risk Reduction Framework that came out of Sendai and the consultation process leading up to the World Humanitarian Summit, both of which have highlighted the need for a more inclusive approach for older people and recognized the critical role they can play in recovery and resilience-building.
As South Carolina recovers from the intense storms there will be plenty of time to consider what lessons may be learned and understand whether older people were impacted more than other groups. The International Day of Disaster Reduction serves as an opportunity to remind us that all communities - no matter where in the world - need to prepare for unexpected emergencies.
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Kate Bunting is the CEO of the U.S. affiliate of HelpAge International - a Hilton Prize Laureate.