Cyprus is to set up a working group and map care needs countrywide as the first steps towards overhauling long-term care, under decisions taken at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday. At the meeting, President Nikos Christodoulides received a proposal from three organisations for a countrywide network of health and social care services, centred on care at home.
Cyprus spends 0.2 per cent of GDP on long-term care, compared with 1.7 per cent in the EU, according to figures in the proposal. Of that funding, 60.6 per cent goes on cash benefits rather than organised services, compared with a European average of 25 per cent.
The plan was submitted by the ‘Social Alliance for the Citizen’, made up of the Cyprus Third Age Observatory, the Federation of Patients’ Associations of Cyprus (OSAK) and the Cyprus Confederation of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities. It records needs in 18 categories and calls for a new legal framework, a national authority, a dedicated fund and a network of services across the island.
What is proposed
The proposed system would cover not only older people but also people with disabilities, dementia, chronic conditions or rehabilitation needs, with particular emphasis on rural and mountain areas. Its stated aim is to keep people in familiar surroundings for as long as possible, including avoiding the forced separation of elderly couples.
It would link health services with everyday personal care. Community teams in each district, made up of doctors, nurses, therapists, psychologists and other professionals, would visit people at home according to their needs rather than a fixed annual limit.
The organisations also recommend more home visits by GPs, incentives through the General Health System (GHS) for home visits by specialists and therapists, and a 24-hour nursing service for cases that are not life-threatening, along with basic nursing care and organised follow-up after people leave hospital.
People would receive help with hygiene, eating, mobility and housework, and those without family support would get transport to medical appointments and medicines delivered at home. Family carers would be offered training, psychological support and respite care, and the plan also includes day care centres, small supported living facilities in communities and alternatives to institutional care.
Decisions
Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Tina Pavlou attended the meeting, where the intention was expressed to use the proposal as the basis for designing the reform.
The working group will assess and develop the organisations’ recommendations, and the mapping will prioritise older people and people with disabilities who lack adequate support. Initially, the group will be made up of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare and the three organisations, with other bodies or ministries joining depending on the chapter under discussion.
A proposal will also be prepared to include long-term care in national planning for the use of EU funds in the 2028–2034 period. The final design, and what will be adopted from the three organisations’ plan, will be examined through the working group.
Christodoulides told Phileleftheros after the meeting that the study he had requested, submitted to him by the three organisations, “is excellent and covers all aspects holistically”.
He said implementation would rest on three pillars. Those without support would be targeted first, the social alliance would help map all needs, and structures and programmes supporting home care would be recorded for inclusion in EU co-funded proposals, which he said would be approved in September 2027.
Pavlou described the discussion as “very constructive” and said it had laid the foundations for planning the next steps. The sides had agreed on timetables and a joint mapping of needs, she said, so that the structures and services needed to support long-term care for vulnerable groups could be designed and delivered.
Authority and fund
The three organisations propose a National Authority for Long-Term Care and Home Health Services, responsible for central coordination, strategy, licensing providers, data management and quality control, under the political oversight of the Presidency or an intergovernmental committee.
They also propose specific legislation setting out citizens’ rights, providers’ obligations, operating standards and inspection mechanisms.
Funding would come from a separate National Fund, complementary to the GHS, with initial resources from the state budget and EU funds. A long-term care social insurance model could be considered at a later stage, subject to an actuarial study and social dialogue.
Costs and dementia
The three organisations describe the financial side as one of the most serious issues their proposal identifies. About one in four dependent people in Cyprus receive long-term care, at home or in facilities, compared with about 35 per cent in the EU. Calculations cited in the proposal show that home care for people with moderate needs can cost the equivalent of 125 per cent of median disposable income, rising to 230 per cent for severe needs.
Population ageing and rising dementia cases are also factors. According to Alzheimer Europe, an estimated 16,268 people were living with dementia across the whole of Cyprus in 2025, a figure forecast to reach 35,780 by 2050. The proposal gives a separate estimate of about 14,300 for the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus.
