Every year, on October 1, the whole world celebrates the International Day of Older Persons. The aim of this day is to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges of the older population.

Every year, the United Nations celebrates the Day of Older Persons with a different theme. This year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres focused in his statement on access to and strengthening of care and support systems for both older persons and their caregivers.

The care and support system has many shortcomings in Georgia. In parliamentary and special reports, the Public Defender reflects the monitoring results of the rights situation of older persons placed in state and private care institutions and highlights important problems that require urgent response. For years, the Public Defender has pointed out that the requirements determined by international and national regulations, including the minimum standards, are not properly fulfilled in the 24-hour specialized institutions.

A special problem is the lack of information of the state structures about the institutions for older persons operating with private financing in the country. It should be noted that there are no established legal standards for the activities of such institutions and they are not subject to state control.

The Public Defender of Georgia once again emphasizes the need for uniform state care standards and an effective monitoring mechanism for the functioning of institutions for older persons of any legal forms and funding, and calls on the responsible agencies to establish them in a timely manner.