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Older Persons in Emergencies
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UN
Roundtable
on Older Persons in the 2004 Tsunami
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UN Headquarters, February
13-14, 2006
What happened to older persons in the aftermath of
the 2004 Tsunami? Ignored or engaged? Voiceless or
decision-makers?
Global Action on Aging and Help Age International asked UN
experts, affected government leaders, relief agencies and local NGOs to
answer these tough questions.
Their analyses and ideas at the UN's Commission for Social Development revealed ways to serve older persons better in emergencies.
Last update: February 17, 2006
Roundtable's Panel
Co-Chair:
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Susanne S. Paul, President
Global Action on Aging |
Susan Erb, Emergency Coordinator
Help Age International
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Speakers:
Ittiporn Boonpracong, Minister Counsellor
Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations Mark Bowden, Director of Policy Branch
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affaires (UNOCHA)
Thelma Kay, Director Emerging Social Issues Division
United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Asia Pacific (UNESCAP)
Annalies Borrel, Chief Policy Unit Emergencies
Division
United Nations International Children's
Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
Susanne Loos-Jayawickreme, Vice-Chairperson
Jayawickreme Foundation, Sri Lanka
Anne Hayes, IDRM International Coordinator
Center for International Rehabilitation
Mathew Cherian, Chief Executive
Help Age India
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Presentations
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Access the Presentations |
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Susanne Paul, President, Global Action on Aging |
Pdf |
Download |
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- Greetings and Introduction |
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Ittiporn Boonpracong, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of
Thailand
to the UN |
Pdf |
Download |
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- The Effect of the Tsunami on Thailand and its Older Persons |
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Mark Bowden, Director of Policy Branch,
UNOCHA |
Pdf |
Download |
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- Evaluate the Relief Work |
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Annalies Borrel, Chief Policy
Unit Emergency Division, UNICEF |
Ppt |
Download |
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- Older Persons in the 2004 Tsunami and Other Emergencies |
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Thelma Kay, Director Emerging Social Issues Division,
UNESCAP |
Ppt |
Download |
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- Vulnerable But Resilient; ESCAP's Work on the Impact of the Tsunami on
Older Persons |
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Mathew Cherian, Chief Executive,
HelpAge India |
Ppt |
Download |
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- Voices of
Elderly:
From the Villages to the UN |
| Susanne Loos-Jayawickreme, Vice-Chair,
Jayawickreme
Foundation |
Pdf |
Download |
| - The Horrible Fate of the Lonely and Forgotten Old People
Who Survived the Tsunami |
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Anne Hayes, IDRM International Coordinator,
Center for International Rehabilitation |
Ppt |
Download |
| - Disability and Early Tsunami Relief Efforts in India, Indonesia and Thailand |
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Recommendations
Recommendations to Strengthen
the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging, (MIPAA 2002)
Download
(Format: MS PowerPoint)
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Gallery
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Panelists |
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Annalies Borrel, UNICEF |
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Ittiporn Boonpracong, Permanent Mission of Thailand to the UN |
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Mark Bowden, UNOCHA |
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Thelma Kay, UNESCAP |
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Susanne Loos-Jayawickreme, Jayawickreme
Foundation |
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Mathew Cherian, HelpAge India
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Susanne Erb, HelpAge
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Susanne Paul, Global Action on Aging
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| Jürgen
Stetten, Friedrich Ebert Fundation
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UN
Headquarters, February 13-14, 2006 |
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Additional
Resources and Background Affected
Countries | Reports | Press Articles
| Links
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- Countries Hit by the Tsunami -
 Source:
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College
- Reports
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 Tsunami Response: a
Human Rights Assessment (January 2006)
(ActionAid International Report)
This report focuses on human rights in the countries hit by the 2005
tsunami. It focuses on the accountability of governments and their role in
responding to tsunami. It also examines how new legislations, policies and
practices are undermining people's right to food, water and home. Among
vulnerable groups, older persons are often at risk. Some can be as dependent
as children but others very often have many responsibilities as younger
adults. The report also shows that among vulnerable people, older women are
the poorest of all and remain the most neglected.
Protecting
and Assisting Older People in Emergencies (December, 2005)
(Humanitarian Policy Group Report)
Humanitarian agencies that give assistance to older
persons must respond to the needs and capacities of older people. Older
persons who have endured emergencies warrant special attention.
Unfortunately such special attention is rarely paid. This report summarizes
the major policy and practice issues affecting humanitarian protection and
assistance for older people, and recommends measures to ensure that older
citizens caught up in humanitarian crises enjoy equal rights and a fair
share of humanitarian resources, and are included in decision-making in
programmes that affect their lives. The report highlights gaps in knowledge
and areas where further research and work are required in the hope of
stimulating further progress in this important area. Tsunami
Affected Countries: Disability and Early Tsunami Relief Efforts in India,
Indonesia and Thailand (October 2005)
(Center for International Rehabilitation Report)
This International Disability Rights Monitor (IDRM) report draws on an
international collaboration among many international organization dealing with
disability. A year after the Asian tsunami and its tragic results, the
catastrophe has disappeared from the media, with other world events taking
precedence. However, for the people affected by this tragedy, it will be many
years before normalcy returns and they recover their lives and livelihoods and
move beyond losses. Among them, the elderly are particularly at risk since
they are the most neglected people among vulnerable groups. Now that the
intensive relief operations have ended, it is time to begin more focused work
assessing the needs and planning for the aid and rehabilitation of specific
groups. Disabled persons and older persons have very specific needs that
require special attention. Particularly as countries and communities rebuild
their infrastructures, they need to ensure that reconstruction considers all
aspects of accessibility for persons of all ages with disabilities. The
Impact of the Indian Ocean Tsunami on Older People (June 2005)
(HelpAge International Report)
A Help Age International report says that the tsunami emergency programs do
not target and in some cases discriminate against older people. In "The
impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami on older people: Issues and
Recommendations," HAI describes the impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami on
older people in four severely affected countries - Indonesia, Sri Lanka
and Thailand. It aims to inform agencies working on relief and
rehabilitation plans and to assist future emergency response planning. It
also identifies important overlooked issues, such as lack of data on older
people affected by the tsunami, age discrimination, denial of rights and
exclusion of older people. -
Press Articles -  India:
India's Tsunami Elderly Cast Away (January 16, 2006)
In the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu, many elders are suffering from the
long-term consequences of the Tsunami. Charities and governmental agencies
have intensely focused on children and young people and have neglected the
elderly, who in a number of cases, lost their caregiving relatives. The major
problems that old persons face in this devastated area revolve around their
basic needs, but loneliness, depression and various post-traumatic effects are
also significant issues. Several old persons have developed a fear of
the ocean-once their source of survival- and feel responsible for the
deaths of their children and grandchildren.
Sri
Lanka: Sri Lankan Government Fails to Rebuild Tsunami-Destroyed Hospitals
(August 4, 2005)
Sri Lanka
's government has not taken steps to rebuild any of the four government
hospitals that the tsunami destroyed. Temporary hospitals are constantly moved
from one place to another, and officials are not offering enough help to treat
mental health disorders. What is the Sri Lankan government doing? These
tsunami victims need these resources immediately.
India:
To Be Elderly Is to Be Overlooked as India Distributes Tsunami Relief (February
9, 2005)
According to HelpAge
India
, based in
New Delhi
, 10,700 elderly died and 5,640 are still missing. In addition, another
500,000 to 600,000 elderly were also affected, losing everything from family
members to homes to livelihoods. Many senior survivors have been forced to
become caregivers for their grandchildren because their own children were
killed by the tsunami. HelpAge
India
provided relief packages for 6,200 family members, mostly are elderly people.
"We felt that in any relief operation, it is the elders who are not
getting their share," Indrani Rajadurai, the director of HelpAge
India
's southern regional office, said.
South
Asia: Older People Talk About How the Tsunami Earthquake Disaster has Affected
Them (January 17, 2005)
Around 210,000 people died in the tsunami's attack on December 26, 2005.
Although much emphasis has been placed on the young people affected by the
tsunami, older people are also among those worst affected by disasters. In
India
, nearly 30% of those killed or missing are estimated to be older people.
Older people's lack of mobility makes it harder for them to escape or to
access aid. They have a right to assistance, yet their particular needs are
often overlooked.
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Links -
Affected
Countries | Reports | Articles
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