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Humanitarian Aid: Older People

Asked by Martin RhodesLabourForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled Answered 18 June 2025UIN 57552

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the specific needs of older people are met through the UK’s humanitarian responses.

Answered by Stephen Doughty

Ensuring the inclusion and active participation of marginalised people, and the organisations which represent them, is a core component of the UK's approach to humanitarian and development policy and programming, and we continue to champion inclusion of marginalised people in conflict and crisis settings. This includes people who may face challenges due to their age, gender, disability or other protected characteristics.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 'Humanitarian Response Funding Guidelines for NGOs' set out specific requirements to ensure needs of affected populations are met, including older people. We have also attached robust indicators to our UN core funding on Sex, Age and Disability (SAD) data disaggregation to inform an inclusive approach.

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