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The saga of trial delays by Veliaj/ What will be the alibi for today's session at the GJKKO?

The next hearing is scheduled for today at the Special Cou...

Albania, towards "super-aging" report: The need for long-term care services is growing

2026-05-04 07:20:49, Sociale CNA

Albania, towards "super-aging" report: The need for long-term care

Population aging in the Western Balkan countries, including Albania, is becoming an increasingly acute topic year after year.

The latest World Bank report highlights that the real challenge for this will be the long-term care that must be guaranteed for these populations that are heading towards what is termed "super-aging."

“The demand for long-term care (LTC) services is already high in the Western Balkans and is expected to grow rapidly as the population continues to age,” the report says.

Long-term care includes “services and benefits for persons who, due to physical or mental limitations over a long period, need support in daily activities or for ongoing care,” while definitions vary by country and institution.

The data shows a worsening reality: “about 16 percent of people over 65 report great difficulty in performing basic daily activities, while another 32 percent report some difficulty.”

Meanwhile, the elderly now make up “about 9–19 percent of the population at the national level” in countries in the region.

The pressure is expected to intensify significantly in the coming decade. According to the World Bank, “Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia are expected to be classified as ‘super-aged’ countries (with at least 20 percent of the population over 65 years of age), while by 2050 Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are also expected to follow the same trend.”

Despite these developments, coverage of formal long-term care services and benefits remains very limited across the region, leading to a strong dependence on informal family care.

According to the available data highlighted in the report, only a small proportion of older people benefit from publicly funded in-kind services, significantly below EU levels.

According to the World Bank, public support tends to focus on residential care and cash payments to informal caregivers, while home-based and community-based services remain underdeveloped and are often funded by donors or NGOs, without being integrated into sustainable public systems./Monitor.al