44
PRIORITYMEASURE24
“Give the highest priority toolder persons in plans for disaster prevention, mitigation and relief, includingdisaster preparedness, relief worker training
on emergency prevention and response and the availability of goods and services.”
Possible lines of action
1. Identify older persons who are vulnerable (due to chronic diseases, dementia or reduced mobility) in planning for disaster
management; 2. Sensitize and train disastermanagement personnel as to the specific needs of older persons; 3. Promote interagency and
intersectoral collaboration for taking older persons into account in official disaster management activities; 4. Ensure that older persons
are represented in national and local disaster management committees; 5. Make use of older persons’ knowledge in the design and
implementation of disaster risk reduction activities; 6. Review disaster management plans regularly to ensure that older persons are
included as a priority attention group; 7. Ensure that personnel providing care and services to older persons are aware of and informed
about their responsibilities; 8. Adjust humanitarian aid distribution plans to ensure that older persons have adequate access to food and
water; 9. Guarantee the safety and accessibility of shelters for older persons, especially those with functional limitations and those
requiring medical care; 10. Restore access to health and care services for older persons, with attention to the reestablishment of
treatments essential for maintaining or recovering their health; 11. Include older persons as beneficiaries of housing reconstruction
programmes; 12. Take steps to prevent violence against older persons, and in particular sexual abuse and gender violence; 13. Evaluate
the lessons learned and the specific impacts onolder persons in the post-disaster phase.
Targets
1. National disaster management strategies incorporate older persons as a priority group for attention; 2. The programmes of
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief agencies include specific measures for older persons; 3. Data from needs assessments and
figures onmorbidity andmortality during disasters are compiled and disaggregated by age and by gender in order to appreciate the needs
of older persons and respond to themmore adequately.
Tentative indicators
1. Percentage of older persons who have received appropriate assistance during a disaster; 2. Percentage of older persons targeted by the
programmes of humanitarian aid and disaster relief agencies; 3. Percentage of post-disaster reconstruction programmes that have
included older persons.
Related instruments,
forums andmechanisms
TheMadrid International Plan ofAction onAgeing (2012) addresses this subject inPriorityDirection I, Issue 8, Objective 1, “Equal access by
olderpersons to food, shelter andmedical careandother servicesduringandafternatural disastersandotherhumanitarianemergencies”.
The San José Charter on the Rights of Older Persons declares the following with respect to this topic:
“(We) draw attention to the
vulnerability of older persons in emergency situations and following natural disasters and undertake to work to: (a) include priority,
preferential assistance for older persons in disaster relief plans; (b) prepare national guidelines that include older persons is a priority
group given preferential treatment in disaster preparedness, relief worker training and the availability of goods and services; (c) give
priority andpreferential treatment to the needs of older persons during post-emergency or post-conflict reconstruction
.”
The measure is also related to the Open Working Group proposal for sustainable development goals, particularly SDG 13.1: “Strengthen
resilienceandadaptivecapacity toclimate relatedhazardsandnatural disasters inall countries”.
