Articles

SUS and an Aging Brazil: How the Unified Health System Supports Older People
Brazil’s Sistema Único de Saúde is central to how an aging population maintains health, function and independence, but universal healthcare is not the same as comprehensive long-term care. This article examines primary care, multidimensional assessment, rehabilitation, vaccination, home-based care, hospital interfaces and Padi Brasil, showing how SUS can prevent or delay dependency while identifying the points where healthcare must connect more effectively with families, SUAS and wider care support. Read more...
Financing Long-Term Care in Brazil: Public Spending, Household Costs and the Care Funding Gap
Brazil finances long-term care through a fragmented mix of public healthcare and social-assistance spending, pensions and income support, municipal budgets, private purchasing and large volumes of unpaid family care. This article examines where the money currently comes from, why low visible long-term care expenditure can conceal substantial household costs, how Brasil que Cuida changes the financing debate, and what a more sustainable funding model would need to achieve as population aging accelerates. Read more...
Who Provides Long-Term Care in Brazil? Families, Communities, Government and the Private Sector
Long-term care in Brazil is delivered through a mixed and often fragmented network in which families remain central while SUS, SUAS, municipalities, ILPIs, domestic and care workers, nonprofit organizations and private providers perform different roles. This article examines who actually provides support, how responsibilities shift as needs intensify, where formal and informal provision intersect, and what the National Care Policy could mean for a more balanced care economy. Read more...
The Right to Care in Brazil: The National Care Policy and Brasil que Cuida
Brazil has moved care from an often invisible family responsibility toward an explicit field of public policy and rights. This article examines what the National Care Policy establishes, how Brasil que Cuida is translating that framework into coordinated action, and why financing, workforce, municipal capability, data and accountability will determine whether the right to care becomes meaningful in everyday life. Read more...
Brazil’s Aging Population: Demographic Change and the Growing Demand for Care
Brazil is aging at a speed that will reshape healthcare, long-term support, family life, municipal services and the care workforce. This article examines the demographic transition behind that change, why population aging does not translate mechanically into dependency, how demand will vary across Brazil’s regions and communities, and what governments and service systems need to understand if demographic projections are to become credible care-capacity planning. Read more...
Aging and Long-Term Care in Brazil: How the System Works
Brazil is entering a decisive phase in the development of care for an aging population. This article explains how SUS, SUAS, municipalities, families, residential services and the new National Care Policy connect, where long-term care responsibilities currently sit, and what Brasil que Cuida could mean for the gradual development of a more coherent, equitable and sustainable care system. Read more...