Syria
In Syria, UN OCHA has recommended that the existing working group become a dedicated Inclusion Task Force. Age Inclusion Specialist Lin Bilal has played an active role in developing its terms of reference and contributing to discussions about how it will operate.
HelpAge has been proposed as co-chair of the task force alongside Humanity & Inclusion, subject to OCHA’s approval. Lin is also continuing to provide training and practical technical support to partners working in the country.
Lebanon
In Lebanon, Age Inclusion Specialist Mohammad Al Rifaii has successfully advocated for the forthcoming Multi-Sector Needs Assessment to collect more detailed data about older people.
The assessment is being used to identify the needs of affected communities and inform the overall humanitarian response. Instead of grouping everyone aged 65 and over together, it will now record data for people aged 60–69, 70–79 and 80 and over. It will also examine how people’s experiences are shaped by age, gender and disability.
This more detailed information should give humanitarian organisations a clearer understanding of the different circumstances and needs of older people.
Mohammad is also contributing to the advisory group for the Ageing Unit established by Amel Association, a HelpAge global network member. Following an initial workshop on the unit’s role and terms of reference, a second workshop is being planned to identify priorities aligned with Lebanon’s national strategy for older people.
Palestine
HelpAge does not currently have an Age Inclusion Specialist based in Palestine, but Rawan Khoury, Global Humanitarian Age Inclusion Specialist, is providing technical support through her involvement in the Global Protection Cluster.
A recent Arabic-language webinar series on the inclusion of older people reached around 60 humanitarian actors. Some sessions were co-facilitated by Juzoor For Health and Social Development, a global network member in Palestine, which shared examples from its own programmes to demonstrate how inclusive approaches are being put into practice.
The webinars created space for participants to explore both the principles of age inclusion and how they can be applied in an ongoing humanitarian response.
These developments matter because older people can remain invisible in humanitarian data, be excluded from decisions and encounter barriers to accessing support. By working with humanitarian organisations, local partners and older people’s associations, Age Inclusion Specialists are helping to change the systems that shape a response – from the evidence collected and plans developed to the programmes funded and delivered. This helps ensure that inclusion is built into humanitarian action from the outset, rather than addressed as an afterthought.
