Last week, Irish Aid visited Malawi to meet older women and men involved in the ROAR programme – a major initiative led by HelpAge International and funded by Irish Aid.
The visit is part of Irish Aid’s ongoing commitment to partnership, learning and accountability, and offers an opportunity to see first‑hand how older people are organising, speaking up and shaping decisions that affect their lives. It is also a chance to listen – to understand what is changing, what is working, and what still needs to shift so that systems better respond to the realities of ageing.
Seeing change through the eyes of older people
During the visit, Irish Aid met members of Older People’s Associations (OPAs) in Thyolo district – older men and women who are coming together through ROAR to build confidence, strengthen solidarity and engage with local authorities. In communities where older people are often overlooked, these groups are creating space to speak out about poverty, access to services and protection from abuse and discrimination.
This is not about showcasing a project from a distance. It is about understanding lived experience – how older people navigate rising costs, repeated shocks and long‑standing exclusion, and how collective action can help shift power and create lasting change.
What is ROAR?
ROAR stands for Realising the Rights of Older People. It is a multi‑country programme implemented by HelpAge International in partnership with network members in Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
ROAR works across its focus countries to strengthen the systems that older people rely on. It supports advocacy for inclusive social protection, creates regular dialogue between older people and service providers, and helps improve income security through livelihoods training and small grants.
The programme also tackles the deeper barriers older people face by strengthening OPAs, supporting older women to take on leadership roles, expanding digital skills, and setting up community‑based protection and legal referral pathways. This practical work is backed by learning, research and regional knowledge‑sharing, helping to challenge ageism, improve access to services and build stronger national systems that work for older people.
ROAR is about shifting power by positioning older people as active citizens with a voice, influence and the right to be heard. When older people are organised, informed and connected to decision‑makers, the system starts to respond differently. That is when real change happens.
Emily Kemigisha, ROAR Project Manager at HelpAge
ROAR in Malawi: turning voice into action
In Malawi, ROAR is implemented in partnership with the Malawi Network of Elderly Persons Organisations (MANEPO), a national network representing more than 60 organisations advocating for age‑friendly services and universal social protection.
The ROAR programme in Malawi is delivering clear, measurable improvements in the lives of older people, particularly older women. To date, 812 older people – including 505 women and 23 people with disabilities – have completed digital literacy training, increasing effective digital use to 54%. Economic resilience has been strengthened through the establishment of 12 self‑help groups, supported with grants for income‑generating activities such as horticulture, poultry and goat farming.
ROAR’s advocacy is also influencing wider systems. Age and disability considerations have been integrated into the World Food Programme’s 2025–2026 Lean Season Response, contributing to an increase in reported social protection adequacy from a 5% baseline to a peak of 30% during the lean season. In parallel, 40 OPAs and Older Citizen Monitoring Groups have been strengthened, reaching 2,539 older people, with women’s participation in decision‑making steadily increasing.
As part of the visit, Irish Aid has met not only with older people themselves, but also with community groups, government officials and local stakeholders, reflecting ROAR’s focus on connecting lived experience with broader systems change.
Strengthening organisations and partnerships
A defining feature of ROAR is its investment in Older People’s Associations and citizen monitoring groups. These community‑based organisations create safe spaces for older people to come together, share experiences and collectively raise concerns.
In Malawi, strengthened associations are engaging with local councils, service providers and government officials to highlight gaps in services, discrimination and protection risks. This connection between lived experience and decision‑making is critical. It ensures that policies are informed by reality, not assumptions.
ROAR also works deliberately across levels – linking community voices with national advocacy, and local learning with regional knowledge‑sharing – to help build more inclusive and accountable systems over time.
Why older women are central
Older women face some of the deepest and most persistent inequalities. A lifetime of unpaid care work, lower wages and discrimination means many reach older age with little or no income, limited access to services and increased exposure to abuse.
ROAR places older women at the centre of its work. In Malawi, women were prioritised for digital literacy training, with tailored, one‑to‑one support to build confidence and skills. As a result, many older women are now using mobile phones independently, managing finances more safely and participating more actively in household and community decisions.
This focus is intentional. Supporting older women to lead and speak out not only improves their own lives but strengthens families and communities as a whole.
This is not about charity. It is about recognising older women as leaders, carers and contributors, whose knowledge and experience are essential to inclusive development.
Learning together for lasting change
The Irish Aid visit to Malawi was designed as a moment of shared learning. By listening directly to older people and engaging with partners and government stakeholders, it reinforced a simple but powerful principle: lasting change happens when those most affected are at the centre of solutions.
ROAR continues to evolve through reflection, evidence and dialogue. What remains constant is its ambition – to ensure older people are not invisible in policy or practice but recognised as rights‑holders shaping the systems that affect their lives.
Improving income security for older people around the world
