Some 56.5 per cent of people aged 65 and over in Cyprus report health problems that limit their activities, and the risk of poverty climbs steeply with age, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report published in early October.
The four-page country profile, ‘Cyprus: Country profile for healthy ageing and care’, puts the at-risk-of-poverty rate at 43.6 per cent for people aged 75 and over, against 10.9 per cent for those under 65. It also points to specific gaps in long-term care policy and in the data available on it.
Health problems
A person reaching 60 in Cyprus can expect to live another 24.2 years on average, according to WHO estimates. Of these, 18.4 are expected to be years of healthy life, while the remaining 5.8 are associated with functional limitations.
Among people over 60, 20.5 per cent have hearing problems and 11.9 per cent have vision problems. Falls stand at 9,636 cases per 100,000 people aged 60 and over. Problems such as these can affect older people’s independence and increase their need for support, whether from professionals or from their families.
Based on 2021 data, the leading causes of death among people over 60 include ischaemic heart disease, COVID-19, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and stroke. The top causes of healthy years lost to disability are back and neck pain, diabetes, falls, hearing loss and osteoarthritis.
Poverty and pensions
For people aged 65 to 74, the at-risk-of-poverty rate is 25.4 per cent. The figures refer to relative income poverty and should not be confused with indicators of extreme poverty or material deprivation.
The report also finds that 92.7 per cent of people above the statutory retirement age receive a pension. Taken together, the findings show the gap between pension coverage and income adequacy: receiving a pension does not necessarily mean an older person is above the poverty threshold.
Gaps in care
Cyprus has a national strategy for older people, policies to create age-friendly environments, action against age discrimination and a policy on integrated primary health care, the report says. Palliative care is also built into health system policy.
However, the WHO notes that there is no policy for comprehensive assessment of health and social care needs. A second gap concerns people who look after older relatives or others close to them. National training programmes exist for professional carers, but the report records no equivalent national programmes for informal carers, meaning relatives and others who provide care without working professionally in the field.
An ageing population
In 2023, about 265,000 people in Cyprus were aged 60 and over, making up 19.7 per cent of a total population of about 1.3 million. Of those aged 65 and over, 19.1 per cent live alone and 50.5 per cent live as a couple with no one else in the household.
The report makes no specific recommendations to the Republic of Cyprus and does not propose an action plan. It brings together data from different years and sets out existing policies, health indicators and gaps in information and care.
Population ageing and gaps in long-term home care and services for older people are currently the subject of public debate, and the EU has also recently made related remarks about Cyprus. About two weeks ago, the government announced a pilot programme of mobile care units for older people in the Limassol mountain area. Phileleftheros understands that further procedures involving non-governmental organisations and other bodies are under way.
