More than half the world's elderly lack access to long-term care, the International Labour Organisation said in a report Monday, condemning the "deplorable" situation facing a rapidly ageing population. A new report from the UN agency showed that some 300 million people over the age of 65 cannot easily access long-term care when needed. Despite the ballooning need of the elderly for long-term care, Monday's report showed most countries were ignoring or under-prioritising their needs.
"This deplorable situation is reflected in the very low public LTC (long term care) expenditure, which amounts to less than 1.0 percent of GDP on average globally," study author Xenia Scheil-Adlung said in a statement. The ILO report charged that "discrimination and negative attitudes towards older persons" were a big part of the problem. "Ageism is a global phenomenon that is sometimes even laid down in regulations and legislation, for example higher costs or unfavourable conditions of certain insurance policies for older persons, or being refused for specific medical services due to age," it said.
Only 5.6 percent of the world's population lives in countries, including Germany and Japan, that provide universal long-term care. A full 48 percent of the global population meanwhile is not protected by national legislation on long-term care, while another 46.3 percent are largely excluded from coverage due to narrow regulations that limit benefits to the poorest. In Africa, more than 90 percent of the elderly have no access to long-term care when they need it.
But even the most "generous" countries, found in Europe, spend only two percent or less of their GDP on long-term care, the ILO report said. This forces many older people living in even some of the world's richest countries to pay for up to 100 percent of their care from their own pockets.
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