Age International

Age International supports older people in some of the poorest places in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East to have improved wellbeing and be treated with dignity. We are Age UK’s international charity and the UK member of HelpAge – the largest global network to support older people, comprising 154 organisations in 85 countries.

From emergency aid to eye care, we support older people in a variety of different ways including 

• Emergency aid – Older people are particularly vulnerable during conflicts, crises and natural disasters – yet they are often forgotten. We help them to survive.

• Healthcare – In countries where healthcare is stretched and limited, we make sure people can see specialist doctors and get the care that they need.

• Care – Not everyone can be cared for by their family – we train and support volunteer carers who visit extremely vulnerable older people in their homes.

• Pensions – We campaign for pensions around the world. Where benefits do exist, we make sure there are no barriers to people claiming what they are owed.

• Investing in small businesses – Older people often struggle to secure loans, due to discrimination. We help people become self-sufficient by investing in small businesses, which benefits local communities.

• Empowering older women – Women experience ageism on top of sexism in later life. We aim to amplify older women's voices and protect the right to equality at all ages.

• Helping people to see again – Our free cataract operations are helping to cure one of the world’s most common ageing eyesight problems, for some of the world’s poorest people.

• Fighting ageism and discrimination – We all matter – no matter how old we are. Age International fights for people who have been marginalised because of their age.

69% of the global population aged over 60 live within low- and middle-income countries. These people are at greater risk of catching coronavirus, threatening their lives. The impact will affect not only them, but their families and communities. In over-crowded slums or refugee camps, basic hand hygiene and physical distancing is already a struggle. A widespread COVID-19 outbreak in these places would have catastrophic consequences.

We are currently working to protect older people across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East – where healthcare systems are already severely stretched, weak, or non-existent.

Through local partners on the ground, we are working to reach the most vulnerable older people by:

• Raising awareness to limit the spread
• Training healthcare workers
• Providing protective equipment for staff and volunteers
• Distributing hygiene kits
• Increasing capacity of medical facilities

Since March 2020 we have been working to reach communities in northern Syria, where in the last few months, hundreds of thousands of people have had to flee their homes. In Malawi and Mozambique, our community outreach teams are ensuring that vital prevention messaging reaches older people already affected by Cyclone Idai. In Myanmar, we've worked with the government to produce coronavirus prevention messaging targeted at 5 million high-risk people. In Bangladesh, we are distributing hygiene kits to 21,000 older people in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement, home to nearly one million Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar. We are also speaking to government officials to ensure public health messaging and support measures fully consider the needs of older women and men.

A gift from you will help us to support some of the world’s most vulnerable older people.