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This pilot version of the Minimum Standards for Age and Disability Inclusion in Humanitarian Action has “been developed for use by all practitioners involved in humanitarian response, including staff and volunteers of local, national, and international humanitarian agencies, with the expectation that the inclusion of people with disabilities and older people is feasible at every stage of the response and in every sector and context. The Standards are intended to inform the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian programmes; to strengthen accountability to people with disabilities and older people; and to support advocacy, capacity-building and preparedness measures on age and disability across the humanitarian system

The Standards are drawn from a wide-ranging review of existing guidance and standards developed by humanitarian actors over recent years. This includes material from organisations with a special focus on disability and/or older age, together with key documents, including the Sphere Handbook, the Sphere Companion Standards and the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS). The Minimum Standards for Age and Disability Inclusion do not create entirely new demands on humanitarian actors; rather, they clarify and reinforce what is already required if broader standards of impartial humanitarian programming and the principles of the Humanitarian Charter are to be upheld”