More at risk: How older people are excluded in humanitarian data

The objective of this study, commissioned by HelpAge International, is to evaluate existing policies and practices concerning the inclusion of data about older people in terms of disaster preparedness and humanitarian response. The countries covered are Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The research focuses on five recent disasters, namely the 2008 Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, the 2010 floods in Pakistan, the 2010 Merapi Eruption in Indonesia, the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal. The research was conducted in 2018.

This study demonstrates that older people are inadequately included in data collection relating to preparedness for and response to disasters, which has marginalized them more than normal. This study also shows that there is a misconception that the needs of older people and people with disabilities are similar to the general population or that using “vulnerable groups” or similar terms as a category is sufficient to capture their specific context, which is not the case. The research also reveals that the statistical department of all countries collect minimum data and expand data sets at the predisaster stage, and this information could be used in the period immediately following a disaster as a reference guide to analysis.