Disaster Risk and Age Index
HelpAge International
March 2015 :: 28 pages pdf: https://helpage.app.box.com/s/tvysbv0xtp6178ay07xzo9whhlbh0j10/1/3205761453/27057739673/1
Written by Clare Harris and Aleksandr Mihnovits; Edited by Sarah Graham-Brown

Foreward
It is a sign of the world’s resilience that in 2014 approximately 868 million people or nearly 12 per cent of the world’s population are over the age of 60. By 2050 – just over a generation away – there will be 2 billion people over 60, nearly as many as children under 15.

Older people are a precious resource with much to contribute by way of life experience and understanding of risk but they are often left out of key decision making in disaster risk
reduction. UNISDR has been working with HelpAge International and other partners to ensure that older people are included in disaster risk reduction work and that the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction is explicit about their needs and how they can become more involved
at community level.

The importance of this is self-evident from the publication…of the Disaster Risk and Age Index which captures the collision of two trends: ageing populations and the acceleration of risk in a world which is increasingly exposed to natural and technological hazards.

This report helps to measure and assess countries’ progress in supporting older populations in respect of disaster risk, highlighting gaps in international and national data sets and pointing to appropriate policies. It demonstrates clearly how leaving out older people in approaches to development, including disaster risk management planning, can lead to bad outcomes for them in disasters. Such planning must take into account the vulnerabilities as well as the capacities of the older generation. Otherwise they will be disproportionately affected by disasters, as we have seen happen all too often in high- and low-income countries.

This pilot index provides feedback to countries and policy makers on how they are doing globally, and, of equal importance, the data demonstrates the changes needed to improve the disaster resilience of older people, from education and social pensions to age-inclusive disaster
risk management. Proactive initiatives on sex- and age-disaggregated data should be applauded, demonstrating what is possible currently, and also highlighting where we need to build and systematise the collection of sex-, age- and disability-disaggregated data as a priority for disaster risk reduction.
Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction Sendai, Japan 14 – 18 March 2015, launch of the first Disaster Risk and Age Index
Press Release: 11 March 2015
This week, HelpAge International is launching the first Disaster Risk and Age Index, ranking 190 countries across the world on the disaster risk faced by older people, at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai…

…The report has an in-depth focus on the South and East Asia area, as this is the region demonstrating some of the highest disaster and climate change related risks coupled with the fastest ageing populations. For example in Vietnam, there will be a 61.4% increase in the proportion of older people aged 60+, between 2010 and 2030.

Already, 66% of the world’s over 60s live in less developed regions and by 2050 this is projected to rise to 79%. The world’s population of older people is expected to rise to 2.02 billion by 2050.[2]

“It is a sign of resilience that there will be this many older people in the world by 2050. But it is the unprecedented rate at which populations are ageing, alongside the increasing frequency of disasters, that presents policy makers with a challenge,” said Toby Porter, Chief Executive for HelpAge International.

“We need to collect data disaggregated by sex, age and disability to demonstrate the impact of disasters on older people. This will help us to develop appropriate strategies in order to save lives,” said Porter…