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Missing millions: How older people with disabilities are excluded from humanitarian response

SHEPPARD, Phillip
POLACK, Sarah
McGIVERN, Madeleine
July 2018

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The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of older people with disabilities across a range of humanitarian settings, considering:

  • whether older people with disabilities have additional needs and challenges accessing humanitarian assistance and protection
  • what factors facilitate or limit access by older people with disabilities to humanitarian assistance and protection
  • to what extent is humanitarian response inclusive of older people with disabilities

A systematic literature review of published studies was conducted. Key online humanitarian guidelines were explored to review how far they explicitly address older people with disabilities. Data from six population-based disability surveys comparing the living situation of older people with and without disabilities were analysed. These included databases from two crises-affected populations in Haiti (post-earthquake) and Palestine. Data from four non-humanitarian settings was also reviewed to explore more broadly the situation for older people with disabilities – India, Guatemala, Cameroon and Nepal. Interviews were held with older people with disabilities, members of their families and local key informants in two conflict-affected populations in Ndutu and Mtendeli refugee camps in Western Tanzania, and Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Eastern Ukraine to find out about their experiences. Staff of five international agencies working in humanitarian response were also interviewed. 

 

Findings highlight particular issues facing older people with disabilities in humanitarian crises: more risk escaping from danger;  barriers to accessing social protection and work; barriers to accessing health and rehabilitation services; barriers to accessing food and other essentials; unsuitable housing and poor living conditions;  insecurity and discrimination; threats to dignity and independence; social isolation and loneliness; risks to mental health; and missing from humanitarian response.

 

A table brings together the findings from the different components of the research to show the needs, risks, barriers and enablers for older people with disabilities identified in the research. Recommendations are provided to humanitarian donors, policy makers and practitioners

“We can also change” Piloting participatory research with persons with disabilities and older people in Bangladesh

BURNS, Danny
OSWALD, Katy
November 2014

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Sightsavers, HelpAge International, ADD International and Alzheimer’s Disease International worked together with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) to bring the perspectives of those who live in poverty or who are highly marginalised into post-2015 policy making. The aim of the research was to understand better the experiences of social, political and economic exclusion of persons with disabilities and older people in Bangladesh from their own perspectives. Two groups (community and NGO) of peer researchers collected 70 stories from poor and/or excluded persons with disabilities and older people from each of the two sites: Bhashantek, an urban slum in Dhaka; and Cox’s Bazar, a rural area in southeast Bangladesh. From the stories collected and analysed in workshops, the peer researchers identified 13 priority areas that affect persons with disabilities and older people: accidents and disasters; livelihoods; access to education; medical treatment; family support; exclusion and mistreatment; superstition; access to services; mobility; marriage; land; rape and sexual abuse; the role of grassroots community-based organisations. Recommendations from the researchers are made in each area. The peer research programme was evaluated and guidelines for its use are provided.

Assessment report : the vulnerability of older people in post-conflict Osh, Kyrgyzstan

MACDONALD, David
2010

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"This report discusses the findings of a survey which was organized by HelpAge International with the intention of evaluating both the social situation and the requirements of vulnerable older people in a post conflict environment. The survey was undertaken in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, following the violent events of June 2010 in south of the country. It was conducted by Luch Lotosa, a local NGO, and the results were evaluated by HelpAge staff. The purpose of the survey and this resulting report was to assess the nature of the specific challenges of vulnerable older people in Osh today in order to inspire action on their behalf on the part of HelpAge’s emergency team as well as all other organizations working in the area. The results of the survey suggest a myriad of problems including those of emotional, social and subsistence nature. However, the greatest challenges older people in Osh appear to be facing are economic. According to this survey, the economic constraints people are facing are significant enough to have a major detrimental impact on the ability of many of the most vulnerable to feed and clothe both themselves and their dependents. The scale of the problems reported in the survey appears rather large; however, it is the prognosis for the future which holds the most concern"

HIV/AIDS and ageing : a briefing paper

HELPAGE INTERNATIONAL
2003

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This briefing paper outlines the difficulties related to HIV that are facing an aging population. It challenges the notion that older people are not vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection, outlines why they are being missed by information and service campaigns, describes difficulties associated with caring for their children and grandchildren who have become sick with AIDS. It takes a rights-based approach in advocating for the inclusion of older people in awareness and service provision programmes, and calls for more research into the effects of HIV/AIDS on an aging population. It points out the value of older people as agents of change and care-givers and argues for directed benefits to older people. It ends with an agenda for action on recognising the intergenerational nature and socio-economic impacts of HIV/AIDS

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