WASH and Older People
Date
2022-03Author
Cavill, Sue
Chuktu, Nanpet
Farrington, Michelle
Hiscock, Diana
Muturi, Caroline
Nath, Priya
Staunton, Marion
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Abstract
There are estimated to be around 900 million older adults (aged 60 years and above), around
13 per cent of the world population. The COVID-19 pandemic helped shed light on the
specific needs of older people as a group more susceptible to severe disease/infection, and
revealed the lack of capacity within water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) NGOs to respond
to these specific needs. This SLH Learning Paper explores the WASH needs of older people
in both development and humanitarian contexts, as well as the fundamental role older people
play in facilitating other people’s WASH access, health, and wellbeing. The paper refers to
the data WASH actors collect on older people in order to understand their differing WASH
needs, the barriers to accessing WASH, and the need to ensure older people’s participation,
including their active role in helping find the solutions. Recommendations are made for
planning with communities and programme design; WASH programme implementation and to
reduce environmental barriers.