Senior citizens across Sub-Saharan Africa have suffered disproportionately as natural and man-made disasters strike with increased frequency and intensity, experts said on Friday.
Animesh Kumar, Program Officer for Africa with UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), regretted that the continent's elderly people are more vulnerable to disasters.
"Whenever disasters strike, the older people in Africa find themselves in a precarious situation due to poor health and social exclusion," Kumar said in Nairobi ahead of the international day for disaster reduction, which falls on Oct. 13.
Countries will focus on the impacts of disasters to ageing population. Africa has been spared the ageing crises witnessed in the rich world, though the arithmetic could change as urbanization gathers steam.
Kumar noted that African senior citizens lack social safety nets, which results in their vulnerability to negative impacts of natural disasters.
"The elderly demographic is shackled by higher poverty levels that is worsened by lack of social protection and livelihood opportunities," he said, noting that elderly people in Africa are confined in villages and urban slums where natural and man-made disasters are rampant.
"The senior citizens are exposed to the elements yet their capacity to withstand them is limited. Recurrent disasters in Africa are detrimental to wellbeing of the aged," Kumar told Xinhua.
An estimated 11 percent of global population is aged 60 years and above, and this could reach 22 percent by 2050. Kumar noted that in the near future, the bulk of ageing population will be in developing world.
The UN disaster body has carried a survey to assess the impacts of natural disasters on ageing population. Kumar said the survey noted that older people were disproportionately impacted by cyclones, floods, and heat waves.
"Climate induced disasters are the greatest threat to the health and survival of senior citizens. They lack financial resources and physical strength to respond to them," said Kumar, calling for African countries to roll out policy and financial incentives to cushion the elderly from negative impacts of disasters.
Prafulla Mishra, Regional Director of HelpAge International, urged governments to engage elderly citizens in disaster mitigation programs.
"Older people have vast indigenous knowledge that can be harnessed to boost disaster response. They are a valuable source of information on disaster management," said Mishra.
