Covid-19 resources

"The Global HelpAge Network in Africa applauds the African Member States for their efforts to reduce the spread of the CORONAVIRUS 19 pandemic. We welcome the heightened prevention information dissemination and awareness raising, efforts to strengthen health services through increased supply of protection gear and necessary equipment, as well as the provision, and in some cases expansion of social protection measures."
Read full statement

This paper from AGE Platform Europe (AGE) presents the state-of-play of a reflection we have engaged with our members and external experts on how the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken by governments affect the human rights of older persons. 

"As the Coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe and dominates news headlines, humanitarian and development organisations are facing an unprecedented challenge to prepare and respond. We ask all those responding to the pandemic to consider explicitly its impact on older people. This Age International and HelpAge International briefing paper provides advice on how to respond to the specific needs and rights of older people, keeping the communities we work with as protected as possible from the impacts of the disease."

A Defining Moment for Informed, Inclusive and Targeted Response. Read full Issue Brief by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) 

"We are writing to you to express our deepest concern regarding the protection of the human rights of older persons in the context of COVID-19, and to request that the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights makes it clear in its strategic guidance regarding the pandemic, and in the training and capacity building activities of its field offices, that the rights of older persons must be part of the OHCHR’s priorities.." Read full letter from GAROP to Ms. Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner of Human Rights.

"We are writing to you on behalf of the Steering Group of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP) to express our deepest concern regarding the protection of the human rights of older persons in the context of COVID-19." Read full letter from GAROP to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Director-General of the World Health Organisation.

A statement in response to the COVID-19 crisis by the Steering Group of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP) 

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating across the world but even more so for older persons. Read full statement by Group of Friends of Older Persons. 

This document by HelpAge International provides guidance and advice for older people about COVID-19. It gives some basic information on what Covid-19 is and how it is spread, followed by key advice on what older people can do to reduce their risk of catching the virus, and what they should do if they need medical help or support. 

The evidence is clear that people in older age are among those most at risk of complications from COVID-191. As we grow older our lives do not become disposable. Older people are us. They are members of our families, our caregivers, our workers and neighbours. Read full brief by HelpAge International 

COVID-19 is likely to have a particularly significant direct and indirect impact on the older urban poor living in informal settlements – slums, shanty towns and favela communities. The ineffectiveness of standard control measures, high rates of pre-existing medical conditions and precarious and disrupted livelihoods and incomes all place older urban residents at greater risk. Read full brief by HelpAge International

"We are writing to you on behalf of the Steering Group of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP) with the aim of supporting the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWG) to progress with its important task of strengthening the protection of the rights of older persons."  Read full letter.

"Human rights are key in shaping the pandemic response, both for the public health emergency and the broader impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. Human rights put people centre-stage. Responses that are shaped by and respect human rights result in better outcomes in beating the pandemic, ensuring healthcare for everyone and preserving human dignity. But they also focus our attention on who is suffering most, why, and what can be done about it. They prepare the ground now for emerging from this crisis with more equitable and sustainable societies, development and peace." Read full Policy Brief by the United Nations

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing untold fear and suffering for older people across the world. As of 26 April, the virus itself has already taken the lives of some 193,710 people, and fatality rates for those over 80 years of age is five times the global average.2 As the virus spreads rapidly to developing countries, likely overwhelming health and social protection systems, the mortality rate for older persons could climb even higher. Read full Policy Brief by the United Nations

"Humanity is facing the Covid-19 pandemic, whose greatest challenge is to protect the lives of all people. In this context, certain groups of persons are mostly exposed to decisions that could affect their right to life. We are talking about persons with disabilities and older persons." Read joint statement by Prof. María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility and Ms. Rosa Kornfeld-Matte, United Nations Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons