Aid group alarmed by older people vulnerability in Darfur
Nov 24, 2006 (LONDON) — A new report highlights gaps in emergency responses which have left 55,000 internally displaced older people isolated and without access to basic services in Sudan’s troubled region of Darfur.
With no peaceful resolution in sight for Darfur crisis, a new report by HelpAge International highlights the effects of prolonged displacement on older people and the need for programmes which go beyond immediate basic needs.
Richard Blewitt, HelpAge International’s Chief Executive Officer says: “Older people are probably the least visible demographic group in the Darfur conflict. Addressing older people’s needs is often not seen as a priority by humanitarian agencies.”
HelpAge International estimates that 160,000 older people live in relief camps and of these around 30 per cent, the ‘invisible vulnerable,’ are sidelined by most programmes and invisible to the majority of humanitarian organizations.
To illustrate the dramatic situation of order people in Darfur IDPs camps, the report cites the case of a woman, Kaltouma, found with a chain tied around her ankle to stop her wandering outside the family shelter.
She was crying for a key and the plate of food left by her side had not been touched. She was suffering from dementia and her family didn’t understand her condition or know how to care for her.
According to HelpAge’s report, this population are socially isolated and at risk of malnutrition.
The report shows that 61 per cent of older people living in camps are affected by illness or chronic disease that needs specialized treatment or drugs. A third of older people are ‘socially isolated’ with limited or no support from extended family or neighbors. 40 per cent are at risk of malnutrition. 29 per cent are caring for orphans with no visible means of supporting them.
An estimated 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million forced from their homes during three and half years of conflict in Sudan’s remote west of Darfur. Despite international efforts, the situation in Darfur remains extremely unstable and violent.
The text of HelpAge’s report (Rebuilding lives in longer-term emergencies’) is available at http://www.helpage.org/Resources/Researchreports/main_content/oT8a/RebuildingLives.pdf
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