In 2020, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), 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, “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.

In this accord, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a package of essential interventions to ensure long-term care. 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 the national or subnational level in the planning and implementation of long-term care services; and
• To give visibility and value to unpaid careers’ vital roles and needs.

Visit the WHO website to download the package.