Age International

10/06/2026

Older people in Uganda are facing a public health emergency after the Ebola outbreak spread from neighbouring DRC.

Our partners HelpAge International and Community Aged Foundation (CAFO) are acting quickly to provide messaging on how to keep safe from the disease – from home visits and community dialogue to radio broadcasts – and practical support such as handwashing facilities and hygiene items.

They are working as part of a group of charities in Uganda to provide a rapid response to the crisis and ensure that people who are often missed by mainstream responses are included, including older people and people with disabilities.

Local officials say more than 90 people have died across the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda

01/06/2026

A.M., 75, fled her home in Southern Lebanon in 2024 and was displaced many times over by the ongoing crisis, eventually finding refuge in a collective shelter in Beirut. She shared her experience:

“Life completely changed… what can a person even say? What someone goes through in life is something they can never forget.

For about a year and a half, we kept trying to return to the south, but we couldn’t. When the situation calmed down, we went back and found our land completely destroyed, our homes all ruined.

We tried to rebuild, to fix things, and return, but we were exhausted and worn out … We searched, gathered what we could, and eventually had to flee again, this time to Beirut - moving from place to place, one day here, another day there.

Everything becomes difficult for a person. But we hope that God will bring relief to everyone. This is life as it passes, and hopefully what’s coming will be better.”

Many older people in Lebanon have lived through repeated displacement from their homes in the last few years, with whole communities uprooted each time violence in the region escalated.

A.M. was able to access support from our partners HelpAge International and Amel Association International at the shelter. She received items including soap, toothbrushes, towels and detergent, which enabled her and her family to maintain their hygiene and dignity despite the overcrowded conditions.

30/05/2026

“I cannot bend my knee. Doctors say I need surgery, which costs 5,000 USD. I don't have that kind of money.”
Lyudmila, 73, Ukraine

Lyudmila’s home town was on the front lines in Ukraine in the early months of the conflict, and she spent weeks sheltering from bullets and shells with no electricity or heating, which severely impacted her health. She lives alone, and her pension barely covers her expenses, but our partner organisation, HelpAge International, has helped her to access food, healthcare and hygiene items.

Nearly half of older women in Ukraine live alone, many of them relying on pensions that are around 30% lower than men’s. Too often, the pension fails to cover even their basic needs.

📸 Dmytro Maksymenko / HelpAge International

28/05/2026

“My name is Amboye. I am sixty years old. I am from the DRC. I have lived in Nyarugusu [Refugee] Camp for twenty-nine years. Life in Congo was normal before the war, as I worked as a school teacher. I also managed my own farm. But when the war broke out, we sought refuge here in Tanzania. We came here for safety. But life here was also very hard. Especially for those of us who are older.

“The challenges we faced as elders in this camp were rooted in a lack of basic rights. In those days … older people were simply ignored. We were treated as if we had no value. We fought for the right to be recognised.

“The elderly were simply not recognized. When we went to the health clinic, they segregated us, saying, ‘These ones are close to death.’ Even basic medical care was out of reach. And getting to the distribution centres to collect food rations was nearly impossible. The long walk was just too much for us to bear. These were the realities we faced as elders.

“To be honest, HelpAge Tanzania brought a revolution here. They began by educating everyone. They spoke to the leaders of Nyarugusu - the cluster, village, and zone leaders. Even the camp management, and various stakeholders received training. They reached out to the police and taught the government officials in the camp. Truly, that influence and education changed everything for us.

“Even healthcare providers were trained by HelpAge.
Now, there is a deep awareness of how to properly care for the elderly.”

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Our partners HelpAge International and HelpAge Tanzania are transforming how older people are treated. But many people worldwide still face age discrimination.

Age International want to hear views from older people around the world - including here in the UK - on this question: What rights matter as we grow older?

Our voices and experiences have the power to send a clear message that everyone deserves to have their rights recognised and respected at every stage of life.

📸 Amini Suwedi / Age International / Fairpicture

27/05/2026

Older people from around the world tell us that ageing means many things to them. It can be a source of wisdom, resilience and independence. But many also share experiences of being overlooked and excluded. Research by the Centre for Ageing Better shows that the UK box office is no exception, with older women consistently being undervalued and underrepresented:

Emma Thompson among voices supporting anti-ageism campaign, which has uncovered striking findings in top-grossing UK films over past three years

22/05/2026

Too many older women face poverty, exclusion, poor health and even violence and abuse after a lifetime of inequality. Yet the UK Government’s new International Strategic Framework for Women and Girls, which outlines its vision for gender equality and how it will deliver this, fails to mention older women at all.

We’re urging the Government to ensure that work to deliver on the rights of women and girls - through policy, funding and partnerships - addresses the inequality older women face.

21/05/2026

“The challenges we faced as elders in this camp were rooted in a lack of basic rights. In those days … older people were simply ignored. We were treated as if we had no value. We fought for the right to be recognised.”
Amboye, 60, Tanzania

For many older people worldwide, later life brings wisdom, resilience and independence. But too often, older people also face discrimination, poverty, and even violence and abuse simply due to their age.

We’re asking older people around the world – including here in the UK – to answer the question ‘what rights matter as we grow older’?

Every answer will help to build a powerful picture of why older people’s rights must be protected and valued.

📸 Amini Suwedi / Age International / Fairpicture

12/05/2026

“When the buildings started to burn all around us, myself and other people decided to leave.”
Nataliia, 67, Ukraine

When the conflict forced Nataliia to flee her home and start over, regular visits from a HelpAge International social worker helped her to navigate the system. The social worker provides information and support to access humanitarian assistance, mental health support and medical care, including essential medicines.

Ukraine is not only one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises, it’s also the world’s oldest, with older people making up a quarter of the population. Yet only a third of them have received support from humanitarian agencies.

📸 Bogdan Rozumnyi / HelpAge International

06/05/2026

Valentyna, 97, had to flee her home town in Luhansk, Ukraine, in March 2022 due to the conflict. She now lives with her daughter and son-in-law in a rented flat in western Ukraine.

“I can’t walk well; I can only move around with a walker. I haven’t applied for disability status - it’s too difficult, time-consuming, and requires travelling to the hospital and standing in queues. I’m physically too weak for that.

After the war and displacement, my condition worsened - before, I could still walk with a cane, but now my legs don’t cooperate at all. I recently fell and injured my knee. The doctors operated on it, but I’m still in pain, especially at night.

My blood pressure keeps going up, too. I’ve got a whole box of medicines. We have a family doctor here - she visits when I’m very ill, prescribes medications, and gives me advice. She’s very kind and attentive.”

We work with HelpAge International in Ukraine to help older people access healthcare despite the crisis. HelpAge International partners with local charities, including Memory 86, Volunteer 68 and Pomahaem, to deliver a wide range of support. This includes home-based care, mental health support, and assistive technology such as walking frames, hearing aids and blood pressure monitors. They also support evacuations of older people and people with disabilities from high-risk areas.

Photo: Mariia Kytynska / HelpAge International

29/04/2026

The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon remains critical, despite the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, with over a million displaced from their homes and living in crowded and ill-equipped shelters.

In recent months, our partners HelpAge International and Amel Association International have been able to provide 600 displaced older people with support, including:

➡️ Mattresses to sleep on
➡️ Hygiene kits containing items like soap, toothpaste and incontinence pads to help maintain health and dignity
➡️ Psychological first aid to help them cope with the distress
Thanks to donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Middle East Humanitarian Appeal.

In the next 9 months, they will scale up their response with mobile care teams of doctors, nurses and facilitators to provide medication, incontinence pads and items such as wheelchairs, walking sticks and crutches.

Photo: Hygiene kit distribution in Saida.
Credit: Amel Association