Populations are ageing rapidly in South-East Asia. As family units become smaller, and younger adults move to find work, increasing numbers of older people are left to cope alone.

Most older people want to stay at home if they can maintain their quality of life. The result is a growing need for home-based care services. Such services, often provided by volunteers, play a crucial role in providing care and friendship to vulnerable and isolated older people.

In South Korea, HelpAge Korea has been running a volunteer-based home-care programme since 1987. The organisation also provides training for a government-run programme, based on its own model.

Using HelpAge Korea’s experience, and with support from the Korean Government through the ROK-ASEAN Co-operation Fund, a regional home-care programme started in April 2003.

Aims

The regional home-care project aims to establish volunteer-based home-care programmes in 10 Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). The project is based on the HelpAge Korea model, with training and support from HelpAge Korea. The project also aims to promote the concept in other countries in the region.

Activities

Activities include:

• developing the capacity of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and recruiting and training volunteers to establish home-care programmes
• sharing experiences of home care in the region with policy makers, international NGOs and research institutions, in order to increase awareness of the benefits of home care for older people
• influencing local and national governments to develop policies to support volunteer-based home-care programmes for older people as a cost-effective and integral part of primary health care.
  

Achievements

• Pilot home-care programmes have been established in all 10 countries. The Myanmar programme, run by the National Council of YMCAs, is the first community-based initiative for older people in the country.
• With support from home helpers, older people have been able to continue their daily activities. They have more self-esteem and are leading more fulfilled lives. "Since I was born, I've never felt happy like this,” says Nguyen Thi Canh, an 80-year-old Thai woman from the Lien Khe Commune.
• The capacity of HelpAge International project partners to manage home-care programmes has improved.
• Research and experience from the home-care programme highlights older people’s needs and gaps in services. These findings are being raised with policy makers to argue for improvements and raise awareness among communities of the needs of vulnerable older people.
• The programme is forging partnerships between local and national governments and NGOs that are working on ageing issues in the region.

The future

A strong network of organisations that are committed to, and engaged in, home- and community-care programmes for older people is emerging in the region. This network is expected to spearhead home-care activities with, and for, older people.

Together with programme partners, led by HelpAge Korea, HelpAge International is planning to continue the project after March 2006. Our activities will further strengthen the current model.

Partners will lobby governments and civil-society organisations to implement policies and programmes that support home care, and allocate adequate resources.