Thrust on ensuring elderly people\\\'s involvement

FE Report | Published: October 24, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Speakers at a programme Thursday stressed on ensuring involvement of elderly people in disaster management planning process, including reducing disaster risk, developing climate-tolerant agriculture system, adaptation and capacity development.
They also noted that elderly people are ignored in disaster management planning at the community.
The number of elderly people has been increasing worldwide due to increased life expectancy, and Bangladesh is no exception. Problems of this increasing population cannot be ignored in the 21st century. Rather they should get special attention, and be part of the disaster planning process, the added.
Their observations came at a discussion, held on the occasion of 'International Day For Natural Disaster Reduction 2014', observed on October 13.
The programme was jointly organised by HelpAge International, Dishari Consortium and Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief at Spectra Convention Centre in the city.
National project director of Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) Abdul Qayum presented the keynote paper.
Speakers said 80 per cent of the elderly population in the developing countries do not have any regular income. Only five per cent of them get pension from the government.
The elderly people should get privilege under the social protection scheme, and ensuring an active life for them is part of the disaster management strategy, they added.
According to the data of World Economic Forum, the share of elderly people will be 12 per cent and 22 per cent in 2030 and 2050 respectively. By 2030, the number of people aged 65 years and above will surpass the number of children aged 14 years, indicating a rise in such population in Bangladesh too, which is at present eight per cent.
As the average life expectancy has been increasing, the risk of these aged people is also increasing. No development and disaster management plan can be done keeping this increasing population outside the system. Specially, if a minor problem of the elderly community is ignored during disaster, it will turn into a major risk for them.
According to a data of UNISDR, 75 per cent people aged over 60 years lost their lives during the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in the US in 2005. Likewise, 56 per cent people aged 65 and above lost their lives during the earthquake in Japan in 2011.