The lack of income and health security for older people in developing economies is compounded by the fact that long-term care is not readily available and most of those requiring such support must rely on informal home care, or services provided by unpaid caregivers such as family members. In developed economies, where the cost of long-term care is very expensive, most Western European countries have put in place a mechanism to fund formal care, and in a number of Northern and Continental European countries arrangements exist to at least partially fund informal care as well.

Despite the high costs, however, the picture is not as bleak as we might imagine for elderly in Asia. Long-term care can be provided both formally and informally. The setting can be either at home or in an institution or day-care center with services varying from selected support (cooking, laundry, housekeeping) to full 24/7 care, including medical. — blog.adb.org/blogs