Turkey is set to reach the most modern standards for elderly and disabled care thanks to a new program designed in consultation with geriatric experts and health care professionals in Germany.
The Ministry of Family and Social Policies signed a cooperation protocol with Deutsche Elit Akademie AG to make the standards for elderly and disabled care in Turkey, match those upheld in Germany.
Minister Ayşen Gürcan said that although Turkey had a large youth population, figures show the elderly population is on the rise.
According to 2014 figures, Turkey has 6.1 million people aged 65 and older, a number higher than the total population of several European countries.
Although they made up 8 percent of the overall population last year, projections made by the state-run statistical agency TurkStat show that the proportion of the elderly will increase to 10.2 percent by 2023 and rise even further in the following decade.
Gürcan said changes in traditional family structures made aging a major social problem for many countries and Turkey wants to take measures to lessen these problems. She said Turkey was looking to improve the life quality for senior citizens, along with rehabilitation and care services, and set up centers for social activities for those citizens. She noted that Turkey took important steps toward taking better care of its senior citizens. "But it is still not enough. We signed this protocol to elevate our standards and improve our capacity. This protocol will enable agencies working for the care of senior and disabled citizens both in the public and private sector to be accredited with (German) standards and will make Turkey an attractive place for elderly care."
Rudiger Schilke, of Deutsche Elit Akademie AG, said elderly care was a big problem for Germany as well and they tried to set up a network of countries following the same standards on the matter. He said that German experts would help brainstorm ways to improve elderly care in Turkey.
Germany is rapidly becoming home to one of world's most aged populations. Surveys show one in five people in Germany are 65-years-old or older. The proportion of those over 60 is projected to rise from 27 percent to 39 percent of the population according to statistics.
Deutsche Elit Akademie AG will prepare a feasibility report for agencies and companies providing elderly care in Turkey. The protocol also includes care insurance payments for Turkish migrants in Germany and grants access for nursing home residents in Germany to public and private nursing homes in Turkey.
