Guidelines For Mainstreaming The Needs Of Older Persons In Disaster Situations In The Caribbean

"These guidelines have been prepared to help integrate and mainstream the concerns and issues related to older persons into disaster risk management programmes and processes. They outline difficulties faced by older persons in disasters and present actions that should be considered and implemented at different operational levels, from the national policy level through sub-national, facility and individual levels. These guidelines were developed through a participatory process, involving consultations with disaster management experts and practitioners across the Caribbean and with older persons. Focus group consultations were conducted with older persons of both genders, of various socio-economic levels and from differing geographic locations, including rural/urban and 'at-risk areas' particularly prone to flooding. Key informant interviews were conducted with National Disaster Coordinators, Health Disaster Coordinators, administrators of older persons homes and NGOs serving the community of older persons from BVI, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Grenada and Suriname. A draft of the guidelines was refined and validated during an expert consultation meeting with representatives from national and regional institutions in the Caribbean that deal with disaster management and older populations."--Page 1.