LTCcovid Country Profile – Printable Version

1.02. Long-Term Care system governance

The Executive Council of the African Union recently adopted a Common African Position on Long-Term Care Systems for Africa. Despite this progress, few regional or national frameworks exist to guide more specific action. Focused debate has been largely absent, reflecting the low policy and political priority accorded to long-term care, combined with a belief that the issue has little impact on economic development. With the exception of a few countries, little organized service capacity or national coordination exists. Rather, the provision of long-term care rests overwhelmingly with family members, which is fuelled by a belief among some that western models of organized long-term care pose a threat to African values (source: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241513388).

The African Union has drafted several policy frameworks relevant to long-term care. These include the AU Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing; the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa; and the Common African Position on Long-term Care Systems for Africa. At the national level, several countries including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania have adopted consistent overarching ageing policies or national legislation relevant to older people, such as the Older Persons Acts of South Africa and Zimbabwe. However, with few exceptions, national policies and legislation overlook significant aspects of sustainable systems of long-term care. In general, they do not provide a framework or roadmap for integrating long-term care across a range of settings and often do not examine the cultural norms and expectations inherent in substantial family involvement in long-term care provision. In addition, they do not specify mechanisms for preparing and supporting caregivers and rarely specify how to ensure a sustainable financing mechanism and workforce supply as the older population grows. Few of the frameworks address how to improve access and affordability for poor and marginalized groups (source: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241513388).

Update for: African Union   Last updated: January 6th, 2022