Effectiveness of UK Government support to older refugees and displaced persons

The needs and rights of older people in times of humanitarian crisis are often overlooked and forgotten. For displaced older people – either as refugees or internally within countries – these needs are often acute. Not only are older people uprooted from their homes and communities, with their livelihoods destroyed, they are often experiencing the trauma of humanitarian crises multiple times in their lives. The experience of an older person is also one of living with one or more chronic illness and they are often living with disabilities. Despite this, data gathering and specific programmes addressing their needs are often absent.

In the case of Tanzania, older people are among those most in need within the hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced from Burundi and DRC. Governments like the UK have a commitment to supporting those most in need in times of crisis, including in Tanzania.

An IDC inquiry into the effectiveness of UK support for older refugees and displaced persons would cast light on how UK support can be targeted most effectively. This is necessary for the UK’s ambitions to Leave No-One Behind, as well as being a good humanitarian partner.

Such an inquiry should cover multiple geographic contexts where the needs of older people in refugee and displacement settings are present. This could include, but not be limited to Tanzania, Lebanon, Gaza, Bangladesh, Pakistan, among others.

As the numbers of older people being displaced increases due to conflict and climate change, so does the need for the UK’s effective interventions

HelpAge Tanzania (HAT) is a local organisation registered in Tanzania under the Non-Governmental Organization Act of Tanzania .HAT operates in both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar and focuses its interventions on i) improving access to quality health and care services for older persons with disabilities; ii) improving income and livelihood security and climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives for older persons and persons with disabilities; iii) improving protection from violence, abuse and neglect for older persons and persons with disabilities; iv) strengthening the movement for change in favour of the rights of older persons and persons with disabilities; v) improving access to inclusive humanitarian action for older persons and persons with disabilities; and v) improving the performance, effectiveness and sustainability of HAT