Aid agencies are calling for an immediate end to demolitions of water cisterns belonging to Palestinian communities in the West Bank, which have been on steady increase in the past year. The recurring demolitions present a clear breach of International Humanitarian Law and undermine the sustainability of the communities that depend on them for survival.
Experts from the humanitarian organisations Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and HelpAge International say emergency aid has failed to address the needs of older people in emergency situations and are calling on donors and humanitarian agencies to ensure that this vulnerable group is included in any emergency response.
HelpAge International and the United Nations Population Fund have announced the members of the judges’ panel for the first 60over60 awards to find 60 of the world’s most inspiring older people.
This Human Rights Day, we are at a critical turning point regarding older people’s rights. Politics has not kept up with the realities of demographic ageing and it is time to rethink legislation, policies and the societal attitudes to ageing.
HelpAge is extremely concerned about the continuing violence and humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC. Reports of violence, looting and killings continue, including in Mugunga III internally displaced persons (IDP) camp, in North Kivu province, which hosts some 30,000 people.
HelpAge International is working with older people’s organisations in the Philippines to help older people affected by Typhoon Bopha, the most powerful typhoon to hit the Mindanao province in decades.
On 5-7 December in Osnabrück, Germany, HelpAge Deutschland and HelpAge International are hosting a conference: Strengthening the rights of older people worldwide.
On Saturday 1 December the World’s HIV community will come together to mark World AIDS Day. This year we are focussed on ‘Getting to Zero’ in an effort to achieve a generation where no one dies of AIDS, no one newly acquires HIV, and the rights of all people living with or affected by HIV are upheld. While we, as a care and support community, fully endorse these three goals, we remain concerned about the limited attention being given to the care and support needs of those living with and affected by HIV and the lack of recognition of the crucial role of caregivers in the HIV response.
Across Africa, HelpAge will be marking World AIDS Day with events that draw attention to older people and how they affected by HIV and AIDS.
UN Member States voted to take steps to strengthen the protection of older people’s rights in a landmark vote in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday 27 November.
HelpAge International is extremely concerned about the safety and wellbeing of older people affected by the recent escalation of unrest in eastern Democratic of Congo (DRC). About 140,000 people have fled their homes in the latest eruption of violence in North Kivu province. We estimate that amongst them are 12,000 older people aged 50 or over.
HelpAge International is very concerned for the safety of the 60,000 older people in the Gaza strip aged 60 and over, including 4,000 who live alone. Many have difficulty walking or have chronic illnesses that limit their mobility.
