A/HRC/42/43 older persons may be more affected than the average population as a result of their specific vulnerability patterns. 86. Data used in assessments should not only be disaggregated by age but also ensure that age cohorts reflect the heterogeneous nature of the older population to allow for a differentiation of older and very old persons, who have different needs and capacities. Age cohorts should also be granular enough to allow taking into account the relativity of the notions of age, depending on the context. The Independent Expert recalls that age is a social construct, and that persons who have endured conditions of war, conflict and natural disasters cannot be regarded with the healthy ageing metrics of affluent societies. 87. The Independent Expert moreover notes that household surveys commonly used in needs assessments do not allow accurate identification of the needs of older persons. Such surveys tend to perpetuate the invisibility of older persons in subsequent programming and lead to inadequate assistance. She notes that, with the increasing use of technology in humanitarian action, including during the assessment phase, there is a risk of overlooking the digitally invisible older persons. 88. The Independent Expert highlights the crucial importance of consulting with older persons to identify and address barriers to access to assistance, such as reliance on technologies, restrictions on mobility and administrative hurdles. In this context, she stresses the need to reach out to older persons, including through mobile registration and other accessible mechanisms, and particularly to those with limited mobility to ensure the inclusion of all older persons in need. She also emphasizes the need to take measures to ensure access to documentation, including identity documents, for displaced older persons. 89. The Independent Expert emphasizes the need to increase funding to address the needs of older persons in emergency situations, such as forced displacement. It is imperative to address the current under prioritization of older persons by highlighting the importance of their inclusion in funding applications. 90. Moreover, the Independent Expert stresses the need to ensure that staff working in emergency situations, such as protection and inclusion officers, are allocated the meaningful budgetary means to be able to implement inclusion policies, wherever they exist, in practice. Robust training is essential for staff to be able to understand and identify the inclusion issues that different groups face, thereby ensuring that older persons are not left behind. 91. It is furthermore essential to ensure that humanitarian actors are required to report on how humanitarian programmes are reaching and responding to the needs of older persons, including through age-disaggregated data. 92. The Independent Expert emphasizes the need to conduct research on the impact of the use of technology in humanitarian action on older persons, and into effective measures to ensure that older persons are not left behind. She reiterates her concern at data collection subject to little control and that relies on a mixture of data provided voluntarily and systemic metadata (such as household surveys), which tends to overlook the needs of older persons. She also reiterates the privacy concerns raised in her thematic report on robotics and rights and the impact of automation on the human rights of older persons (A/HRC/36/48). 93. The Independent Expert also highlights the need to provide access to national systems, including social protection, for refugees and internally displaced persons, including through legislative change. She stresses the importance of universal noncontributory old-age pensions prior to emergency situations to foster the resilience of older persons. 94. The Independent Expert notes that there is insufficient research into and awareness of the prevalence and risk of elder abuse in emergency settings. She also notes that the general tendency of underreporting cases of abuse, maltreatment and violence against older persons is amplified during emergency situations, owing to a multitude of factors. Preventing elder abuse in emergency settings requires a 15