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Supporting Nepal’s older people one year after the earthquake

by Chris Roles, managing director of Age International
Sunday, 24 April 2016 21:45 GMT

Women walk past the debris of collapsed temples at Hanumandhoka Durbar Square during the first anniversary of the earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, April 24, 2016. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

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* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Humanitarian relief in the country needs to include efforts tailored for older people, as well as other vulnerable groups

Older people face specific vulnerabilities during natural disasters and other emergencies, and last year’s earthquake in Nepal was no exception. Even now, one year on, humanitarian relief in the country needs to include efforts tailored for older people, as well as other vulnerable groups.

At least 29 per cent of the people killed by the earthquake in 2015 were older people, despite the fact that they make up just 8 per cent of Nepal’s population[1]. Whilst every disaster is different and the impacts are specific to the circumstances, this trend is undeniable. Other examples range from Hurricane Katrina in the USA and the 2011 tsunami in Japan[2] to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013, where death toll figures include a disproportionately high number of older people.

In Nepal this is partly due to the fact that rural areas were the most affected and many people of working age have moved to the cities and towns to find work.

More generally, older people are more likely to have hearing or visual impairments or difficulties with mobility, which can make it more difficult to run outside during an earthquake. Some people, like 85 year old Dupha, were not aware of the earthquake and have to rely on family members to help them get to safety.

Dupha explained what happened to him during the earthquake:

“I wasn’t well, so I was lying in bed, and I couldn’t see because I had a cataract. My eldest daughter pulled me from the house. I would’ve died in my bed if she had not pulled me out. I didn’t even know there was an earthquake until she started pulling me out of the house. Our house fell down; it just collapsed.”

Age International has been working through local partners in Nepal to support older people. We have provided shelter and winter kits including blankets and solar lamps for older people, as well as support in the weeks after the earthquake to help families get food, medicine and other essentials.

As importantly, we are working with other humanitarian agencies and local government to ensure that older people are fully included in the on-going response. As part of the Inclusion Working Group, our partners are ensuring that the needs of older people and persons with disability are represented and met by the earthquake response.

Our Inclusion Adviser, Bisakha Yonzon Tamang, says: “Inclusion is a very broad topic: it is about ensuring that aid is delivered according to an individual’s needs.  For older people, it means we shouldn’t give beaten rice to people who have no teeth; we shouldn’t give a red sari to a widow; and we shouldn’t give a wheelchair to someone where the terrain doesn’t allow wheels.”

Inclusion is a broad topic but at its most basic it means helping people in the way they need to be helped and not having a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

As the humanitarian response moves into longer term recovery, our focus has turned towards making sure older people can earn a living and providing age-appropriate healthcare. This includes health camps and eye care, providing screening and medication for non-communicable diseases, eye tests and cataract surgeries.

Recovery and delivering aid to affected communities has been challenging. Our local partners have had to contend with difficult terrain, poor weather conditions and a country-wide fuel crisis but they continue working tirelessly to reach those who still need support.

To find out more about our work in Nepal, visit www.ageinternational.org.uk/nepalearthquake

[1] According to the death toll maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) in April 2015, 28.9%  of those who died in the earthquake were older people
[2] During Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans in 2005, 75 per cent of those who died were over 60, even though older people made up only 16 per cent of the local population.  Similarly, when the Japan tsunami hit in 2011, 56 per cent of those who died were 65 and over, despite only 23 per cent of the population being in this age range. 

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