Emergency guidelines
Download our guidelines on shelter, preparing for an emergency and good practice.
Good practice
Protecting older people in emergencies: good practice guide (470 kb)
When communities are struck by conflict or natural disaster, older people are among the most vulnerable people affected. However, humanitarian programmes often fail to recognise the challenges and vulnerabilities faced by older people - either because they do not meet their programming
criteria or because their needs are not fully understood.
This briefing highlights the need for agencies to better understand and address older people's needs.
Shelter
Guidance on including older people in emergency shelter programmes (a summary) (160 kb)
Shelter is a basic human right for people of all ages, but for older people the sense of security and comfort that a home provides is particularly important. Losing their home in a disaster or conflict therefore has a profound psychological impact, particularly on the "oldest old" (people above 80 years).
These guidelines recommend five key action points for including older people in shelter programmes. These action points are not exhaustive but provide a framework for the different phases of a shelter programme: temporary, transitional and permanent.
More resources:
Guidance on including older people in emergency shelter programmes (500kb)
Preparing for an emergency
How to prepare for an emergency poster (951 kb)
This poster shows how to prepare for an emergency, including community mapping, communications, preparing an evacuation bag, and general preparedness.
More resources:
Evacuation bag checklist (293 kb)
What to do when an emergency strikes poster (828 kb)
After an emergency poster (993 kb)
