WHO calls for urgent transformation of care and support systems for older people

On the UN International Day of Older Persons 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urgently calling for action to not only strengthen but transform the way countries provide care and support for older people, especially as it approaches the halfway point of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030).

“We all require support to care for ourselves at some point in our lives, but we are more likely to require care the longer we live,” said Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director of the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing. “However, evidence shows that care and support systems across the world are not yet prepared to meet the needs of older people.”

Dr Banerjee added, “The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing underscores that a radical shift is required in how we value and deliver care to foster healthy ageing – and WHO stands ready to support countries who are committed to make this shift.”

The International Day of Older Persons is commemorated every year by the global community on 1 October to both celebrate older people’s contributions to society and highlight the challenges older people face. The international day grows in relevance every year, as the world’s populations continue to live longer and rapidly age. By 2030, it is projected that 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over. Furthermore, 80% of older people will be living in low- and middle-income countries by 2050, making healthy ageing a truly global priority.

This year’s theme is “Ageing with Dignity: The Importance of Strengthening Care and Support Systems for Older Persons Worldwide”. This theme underscores the critical role played by countries in providing health and long-term care services in maintaining the health and well-being that older people need to be and do what they value.

According to WHO’s latest analyses:

• People aged 60 years and above continue to experience unmet healthcare needs, whether they live in low-, middle-, or high-income countries.
• Around 2 in 3 people who reach older age are likely to require longer-term support and care from others to perform activities of daily living, such as eating, moving around, or bathing.
• Ageist stereotypes that incorrectly assume poor health is natural and unavoidable in later life prevent many older people from receiving the care they need. These stereotypes are commonly held by both care professionals and older people themselves.

Despite these needs, there is still limited access to good quality, affordable and equitable care that supports us to make the most of longer lives – no matter who people are, where they live, or how old they are.

According to the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing progress report, 2021–2023:

• Only around 1 in 4 reporting countries have enough financial and political resources to implement integrated care responsive to older people’s needs, and only 1 in 3 have the same for long-term care.
• Only 16% of low-income countries, which heavily rely on unpaid informal care, have a training programme for informal caregivers of older people.
• Less than 60% of reporting countries include long-term care in their national competency framework for geriatric care workers.

The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing calls on countries to not only strengthen but transform the way WHO provides care and support by delivering person-centred, integrated care responsive to older people’s needs, and ensuring access to long-term care for those who need it.

To do so, WHO recommends countries provide an integrated continuum of care, which:

• is person-centred, appropriate, affordable, and accessible, focusing above all on supporting every person to meet their needs and preferences and fulfil their goals;
• integrates health services across disciplines and specialities to guarantee every person receives the full range of health care they need without getting lost between separate services and programmes;
• integrates health and social care, ensuring every person has seamless access to both short- and long-term care across clinical settings, care facilities, their local communities, and their homes;
• cares for the carers, valuing their contributions, providing adequate support, and ensuring equity – including for informal caregivers such as family carers, who are disproportionately women; and
• holds national governments accountable for providing care, in close collaboration with local governments, civil society organizations or the private sector, as appropriate.

As the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing marks its halfway point in 2025, WHO is committed to supporting countries in responding to the UN Decade’s call for delivering person-centred, integrated care and ensuring access to long-term care for those who need it. Transforming the care and support systems to ensure an integrated continuum of care also enables us to better meet the needs of people of all ages, making it a good investment for everyone, everywhere – and an essential component of universal health coverage.