Making Poland truly friendly for the elderly and disabled is one of the main declarations made by the Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in his exposé. This is, undoubtedly, one of the major challenges for Poland associated with the current demographic process: extending life expectancy and growing, yet still low birth rate.

The family department has launched (or continues) a number of programmes aimed at increasing the activity of the elderly as well as caring for them and providing them with everyday support.

One of them is the “75+ care” programme, which is supposed to make care services, also specialist care, better available to the elderly. The programme enables municipalities to co-finance the provision of such services.

The most important activities

According to data as of late September 2018, 384 municipalities joined the programme, offering services to more than 2.2 people. In 2019, the “75+ Care” programme will have an extended formula.
“The programme will cover not only lonely persons aged 75+  (as it does now), but also senior citizens who have their families. This way, more senior citizens will have access to the services that were previously unavailable to them”, says Minister Elżbieta Rafalska. 

Another programme, called “Senior +”, will develop a network of Day Homes and Clubs for the elderly. There, the elderly can not only spend their free time, engaging in cultural or sport activities, but also eat meals and use the care and assistance they need.
In 2018, the record amount of 80 million PLN was allocated to the programme. The same amount has already been secured in the 2019 budget. Currently, an open call for tenders for the next year’s edition of the programme is in progress.

On 30 November, a new call for tenders for the best projects co-financed from the Government Programme for the Social Activity of the Elderly for 2014-2020 was also launched. The target group of the programme are persons who end their professional activity, but have such qualifications and experience that should not be abandoned after retirement. In the period of 2016-2018, the project budget was 113.8 million PLN. The money was used to co-finance more than 1.1 thousand projects with nearly 450 thousand beneficiaries. This year, the budget is 40 million PLN. With these funds, it is possible to expand the range of cultural and educational activities, workshops and trips as other forms of senior citizen engagement.
"The programme beneficiaries are not only senior citizens, who can engage in activities suited to their needs and condition, but also younger generations, who can profit from the life experience of their elders", says Elżbieta Rafalska, the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy.

Senior citizen policy instruments

The direction of the senior citizen policy is determined by the instrument adapted by the Council of Ministers: “Senior citizen social policy 2030.  Safety - Engagement - Solidarity”. This is the first governmental instrument to address the needs of elderly dependents.
“It will enable implementation of solutions that will reduce the scale of elderly dependence on others as well as as well as facilitate access to services that increase independence. The instruments defines the goals of senior citizen social policy, such as increasing the quality of their life, prolonging their independence, ensuring their safety or enabling their activity”, says Elżbieta Bojanowska, Deputy Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy.