OLDER PERSONS IN EMERGENCIES: AN ACTIVE AGEING PERSPECTIVE

The global population of persons aged 60 and over is rising dramatically – especially in regions that experience the greatest risks of natural or conflict-related emergencies. Headlines of the plight of older persons during the European heat wave of 2003 and Hurricane Katrina in the USA in 2005 shocked the world. In developing countries, their situation is generally much less widely-known and their needs and contributions have been largely invisible. But this is changing.