PAHO and IDB warn ageing Caribbean faces growing need for long-term care
A joint policy brief says fragmented services and weak public financing leave families shouldering much of the cost, with only 15 of 35 PAHO members reporting a publicly funded system.
WASHINGTON, United States. A joint policy brief by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says the need for long-term care is growing as populations age across the Americas, including the Caribbean.
Fragmented services and insufficient public financing are leaving families to bear much of the responsibility and cost, the report says.
By 2050, an estimated 306 million people in the Americas, more than one in four residents, will be aged 60 or older.
The brief, "Governance and Financing of Long-Term Care", was released on Wednesday, October 28, ahead of the International Day of Care and Support on October 29.
"Investing in long-term care is not simply an expenditure," said Mary Lou Valdez, PAHO deputy director. "It is an investment in healthier people, stronger families, and more resilient societies."
Progress, but gaps remain
PAHO said the 2025 midterm review of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing found that 88 per cent of responding countries included long-term care in national legislation, policies or plans, up from 61 per cent in 2020.
However, only 15 of PAHO's 35 member states reported having a formal, publicly funded long-term care system, and just seven of 27 countries responding to a separate question reported legal recognition of informal caregivers and an entitlement to support.
"Health and social protection services frequently operate independently, without coordinated assessments or care plans," the report says.
It estimates that the economic value of informal long-term care can represent between 0.8 per cent and 4.9 per cent of annual GDP.
Uruguay as a model
The brief points to Uruguay's National Integrated Care System, set up in 2015, which brings together ministries, local governments and civil society, uses standardised assessments of need, and links public financing and co-payments to income.
PAHO said it supports Caribbean and other countries in strengthening long-term care policies through its Regional Policy on Long-Term Care 2025 to 2034. The issues were also to be discussed at a joint high-level dialogue with the IDB on October 29.
