On the ground: Africa

Read about our response in South Sudan on our country in focus page. 

South Sudan in focus

Ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between the Congolese army and militia groups has led to an estimated 9000 displaced people arriving in the Rwampara Health Zone as of this year. Many are homeless, sleeping out in the open or in public buildings (churches, schools and abandoned public places), surviving without a regular income and limited access to hygiene facilities and sanitation.

Our COVID-19 response in DRC, through our partner HelpAge DRC, will focus on the vulnerable displaced people in the Rwampara Health Zone. Cases of the virus have already been identified in the wider region, and the unhygienic conditions mean there is a high risk of the virus spreading to the most vulnerable communities. 

HelpAge DRC has been working in the area for some time and has trained community volunteers to work with older people in the area and developed age-friendly materials. We are now working to reach over 3000 older people, by providing handwashing facilities and raising awareness of the risk of COVID-19. We’ll also provide cash payments to the most vulnerable to cover costs for food rations, emergency shelter, water containers and purification products, hygiene items and other essentials to improve their living conditions and reduce the impact and spread of the virus.

Read about the situation on the ground

Ethiopia has seen its COVID-19 cases increase twelve-fold between June and September. The country is a major transport hub and home to over 700,000 refugees. After our initial support in two of Ethiopia’s major cities earlier this year, Age International has provided further support in Gambella to help tackle the increase in cases.

At the start of the pandemic, two of Ethiopia’s major cities - Addis Ababa and Hawassa - were identified as high-risk areas for COVID-19 and we have been working to reach over 8,000 older people in these areas through our partners on the ground.

In these two regions we have:

•  Provided hand-soap, sanitisers and surface disinfectants to keep areas clean and virus free.
•  Delivered vital home-based care and prescription medication.
•  Set up handwashing stations at Older Persons Associations Centres.
•  Supplied Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like facemasks and gloves to health workers and volunteers.
•  Supported older ambassadors and activists to champion older people’s rights
•  Collaborated with government, UN and civil society organisations.

In May, our partner HelpAge Ethiopia conducted an assessment on the impact of COVID-19 on older people in Gambella, one of the ten regional states of Ethiopia and home to most of the country’s refugee camps. The assessment highlighted many challenges for older people, including reduced access to health services, feelings of isolation and anxiety, and a lack of access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) e.g. face masks, and other equipment, because of their inability to afford them.

To support older people in Gambella we are working with partners in the area to:

• Provide PPE to 2,000 of the most vulnerable older person led families.
• Support house-bound older people through volunteers.
• Provide soap at 30 centres.
• Conduct weekly awareness raising sessions for 8,000 people on COVID-19 mitigation measures at refugee centres for older people and  people with disabilities.
• Train 160 people, including Home Based Carers and members of Older Person Associations and the Refugee Central Committee, on the impacts of COVID-19 on older people and equip them with PPE such as facemasks and hand sanitisers.
• Provide counselling and psychosocial support for distressed older people through Older Person Associations.

On October 1^st it was International Day of Older Persons and we used the day to raise awareness of the risks of coronavirus to 4,000 older people and other groups in the region.

Millions live in poverty in Kenya, struggling to access basic services such as healthcare or generate an adequate income. Older people are typically among the poorest and most neglected.

As their children head to urban areas for work, many older people are left alone in rural areas, often feeding and raising their grandchildren while trying to make a living by farming their land. Only four in 100 people in Kenya have paid into a pension scheme in formal employment. This leaves the vast majority without a sufficient and reliable income in their later years.

Now that coronavirus has taken hold in the country and there are thousands of recorded cases, older people are more at risk than ever. Not only from the virus but also from a lack of income and accessibility to healthcare for other conditions too.

To help stop the spread of this life-threatening virus we are working to reach older people in Kibra and Dagoretti in Nairobi, two of the biggest urban slums. We will distribute 1,500 bars of soap and reusable facemasks and 600 hand sanitisers to 300 older people. Additionally, to help combat hunger due to loss of income we are also providing 300 older people with food vouchers.

With the help of regional partners, we are developing TV and radio communications specifically for older people to inform them about coronavirus and how to best protect themselves. We will also share information on accessing payments for the current Government Social Protection programme for people aged 70 and above.

To ensure that volunteers and staff are able to help older people through the pandemic we have provided meals and transport for 104 volunteers and older person gatekeepers in addition to eight members of staff.

Mozambique has been affected by several humanitarian crises in recent years, including drought, flood, and the devastation of Cyclone Idai in 2019 which cost millions of people their homes and livelihoods. Now, because of the pandemic, there have been shortages in essential supplies and gaps in health service provision. Older people and their families have lost their livelihoods as they have been unable to continue their employment during the pandemic, and many report not being able to get enough food (see our Rapid Needs Assessment).

Last year, with our partner HelpAge International, we focused on spreading the word about the virus to older survivors of recent natural disasters through our existing Community Outreach teams, which visit older people in their homes. We distributed information leaflets across the country – including translations in local languages - and worked to raise awareness about preventing COVID-19 and how to stop the spread, challenging the myths and misconceptions, reaching over 12,500 people.

Funding from our partnership with the Start Network has allowed us to provide ongoing support to older people in Mozambique throughout the pandemic, including:

• Delivering vital home-based care and supplying prescription medication.
• Distributing hygiene kits of soap, hand sanitiser and surface disinfectant to households headed by older people.
• Providing older people self-isolating with drinking water and food items like rice, oil and beans.
• Giving emotional support to older people affected by bereavement.
• Supplying Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like facemasks and gloves to health workers and volunteers.
• Establishing a safe isolation space for older residents at the Nhangau centre in Beira, which was affected by Cyclone Idai.
• Supporting older ambassadors and activists to champion older people’s rights.
• Working with the government and other organisations to strengthen the national response to coronavirus and local health service.

Rwanda is a small, landlocked country with a high population density which will make preventing the spread of coronavirus challenging, and cases are starting to rise within communities there.

Our partner in Rwanda, NSINDAGIZA, will reach 5,000 older people with their COVID-19 response. They are installing hand washing stations in their two elderly care centres and in 100 households, as well as providing soap, hand sanitiser and surface disinfectant.

With a nationwide lockdown already in place, Rwandans are worried about being able to feed their families. Many older people’s incomes will be impacted, due to being unable to work or access their usual support. Our partner in Rwanda will work with older ambassadors and activists and partner organisations to advocate for older people rights and needs, and raise awareness.

Age International has been working in Tanzania for many years with ongoing projects including improving health and well-being for older women and men as well as in the Mtendeli, Nduta and Nyarugusu refugee camps and the surrounding local districts reaching people with specific needs. Our activities for these programmes have been temporarily suspended to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Our implementing partner, HelpAge, has published leaflets with key prevention messages on COVID-19 that are being translated, printed and distributed to older people to help reduce the risk of catching the virus.

Training for health care staff is taking place to strengthen levels of readiness against COVID-19 and a sign-language interpreter is working to ensure that information around the virus is more accessible. Six thermal scanners have been also been purchased to help diagnose possible cases sooner.

Personal protective equipment, including facemasks, hand sanitizer and rubber gloves, is being provided to home based carers who are visiting older people to provide health care support. The equipment will protect them as well as prevent older people from contracting the virus. While visiting, carers will distribute disinfectant to households headed by older people.

In refugee camps four motorized tricycles have been bought to facilitate the access of basic needs for people with specific needs and mattresses and bedpans have been provided to support homebound older people and those with confirmed coronavirus cases.

We are also providing materials to keep facilities hygienic and ensuring that carers and staff are able to communicate effectively through the use of mobiles phones.

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Since the first case in Uganda in March 2020, coronavirus has spread to almost all districts, but the health service lacks Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other supplies needed to protect its population. Although the lockdown in Uganda has now been lifted, many older people told us that the restrictions affected their access to vital healthcare. The ongoing disruption to markets and livelihoods also particularly impacts older people.

With our partner HelpAge International, we already worked with refugee organisations and older people’s groups in Uganda, educating and engaging older people on how to age well and stay healthy through health promotion. Last year, we began reaching out through these networks and working with community radio stations to raise awareness on preventing coronavirus and how to stop the spread. We also conducted a Rapid Needs Assessment to better understand the needs of older people there. Funding from the Start Network has helped us continue providing support throughout the pandemic to meet older people’s needs, reaching a further 9,000 people.

Our COVID-19 response there has included:

• An information and radio campaign targeted at older people, raising awareness of signs and symptoms of the virus and how to access care and support at home. • Delivering vital home-based care and prescription medication.
• Distributing hygiene kits of soap, hand sanitiser and surface disinfectant.
• Supplying PPE like facemasks and gloves to health workers and volunteers.
• Adapting and improving water, sanitation and hygiene facilities at 100 sites.
• Reaching out to over 1,500 older people with telephone calls to reduce loneliness.
• Supporting older ambassadors and activists to champion older people’s rights.
• Working with the government, UN and civil society organisations to ensure their work is inclusive – including ensuring that older people continue to receive their prescriptions, and engaging with the government on delays to social pension payments.

Zimbabwe has seen its health system collapse over the past two decades due to an ongoing economic crisis which continues to worsen.

Last year there were months of health worker strikes over poor working conditions and a lack of basic medical essentials, with senior doctors claiming public hospitals were “death traps”. Now, with coronavirus cases rising, there are fears for how the country will cope with the virus.

Our partner in Zimbabwe, CCDS, who we worked with on our response to Cyclone Idai last year, are working to reach over 3000 older people with hygiene kits of soap, hand sanitiser and surface disinfectant.

They are collaborating with the government to identify older people’s shelters and homes to distribute the hygiene kits to, along with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). They will also distribute PPE and detergents to Community Nurses in the districts of Chimanimani and Chipinge.