New report launched from the World Health Organization

Long-term care for older people: package for universal health coverage

In 2020, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), which is a transformative collaboration of diverse sectors and stakeholders to foster healthy ageing for older people. The fourth Action Area of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (i.e., “Providing access to long-term care for older people who need it”) encompasses the provision of essential services to allow older people needing long-term care to maintain functional ability, enjoy basic human rights, live with dignity, as well as supporting family carers in the delivery of proper care without detrimental consequences.

WHO has developed a package of interventions that are essential to ensure long-term care. These are are described in a new guidance, entitled ‘Long-term care for older people: package for universal health coverage’. The objectives of this technical product are:

• To define a list of long-term care interventions to be considered, prioritized, and provided by countries through the integration of health and social care;
• To support governments and policy-makers at national or subnational level in the planning and implementation of long-term care services;
• To give visibility and value to the vital role and needs of unpaid carers