Symposium on ageing in crisis: Advancing the overlooked healthcare rights and needs of older people in humanitarian crises

“When an older person dies, it is a library that burns down.”

With these words by Hampaté Bâ, Aissami Abdou, operations coordinator for Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), reminds us that older people play vital social and economic roles as caregivers, mediators, and community connectors in their communities, often providing stability and continuity in times of humanitarian crises. Older people can provide solidarity and support to each other, and to others across a range of ages, and often function as first responders in humanitarian crises. At the same time, evidence shows that older individuals are disproportionately affected by humanitarian crises due to a combination of pre-existing chronic conditions, mobility limitations, sensory impairments, and neurological or cognitive constraints. Yet, as emphasized in an earlier call to action, older people remain frequently overlooked in humanitarian responses. They are less visible in data collection, less prioritized in programme design, and less likely to be reached by standard delivery models. By 2050, one in five people will be over the age of 60, and 80% of them will be living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), contexts where humanitarian crises most frequently occur and where health systems are often least equipped to address the complex needs of older adults. This demographic shift creates an urgent need to re-examine how humanitarian preparedness and responses account for the healthcare rights and needs of older people.

To mark the International Day of the Older Person on 1 October 2025, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), HelpAge International, University Medical Center Utrecht and Knowledge Center Global Health organized an international symposium on healthcare rights and needs of older people in humanitarian crises, accompanied by an exhibition of pictures by HelpAge International, displaying older people across humanitarian crises and their testimonials. This symposium brought together humanitarian workers, public health experts, gerontologists and policymakers and highlighted the unique health challenges of older populations in emergencies and evidence-based interventions and best practices.