March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day. This year, the WHO Centre for Health Development (WHO Kobe Centre -WKC) is researching policies about long-term care (LTC) and the impact on women across their lifespans.
LTC faces important gender differentials. As women tend to have longer life expectancies than men, they rely on LTC services. At the same time, women make up the majority of the formal LTC workforce, and female household and community members provide the overwhelming share of informal LTC in homes and communities. Given that informal care is largely unrecognized, informal caregivers face significant losses in foregone wages and other opportunity costs in having to leave the formal workforce to provide care.
WKC is working with the Health Governance and Financing team and the EURO Observatory on Health Policy and Systems to collate evidence for countries about the value of investing in LTC. Sustainable investments in LTC are essential for building equitable communities that support and recognize the health, safety, and welfare of older women and those that care for them.