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At the fourth BBinar on Informal Care and Gender Equality in the Western Balkans on 16 March 2023, ca 35 stakeholders from international organisations, ministries, civil society, NGOs, universities, and research institutes throughout the UNECE region came together to discuss progress and challenges of developing accessible, affordable, and high-quality care for older adults. During the BBinar, the participants delved into a constructive discussion surrounding informal care’s crucial role in long-term care, the difficulties surrounding informal care for children with disabilities in Albania, and the existing gender disparity in informal care in the Western Balkans. Read more & check the presentations here

The 4th BBinar will discuss progress and challenges of developing accessible, affordable, and high-quality care for older adults as one way to improve gender equality in the Western Balkan countries. Informal care remains an important component of long-term care systems for older adults across most Western Balkan countries. Lack of alternative care services has meant that the responsibility for providing care for older adults falls on the family, and more often, women. In turn, this has led to women remaining out of the labour market to provide care for their older family members, leading to a larger gender gap in employment. This BBinar will present a snapshot of the care situation and associated gender inequality in some Western Balkan countries, as well as discuss solutions and challenges. Register here

The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of North Macedonia and the European Centre hosted the online Peer review “Deinstitutionalisation of children and persons with disabilities” on 08-09 February 2023. Over 50 representatives from ministries from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Ukraine, as well as other stakeholders discussed experiences and challenges of transitioning children and persons with disabilities from institutional to community-based settings (deinstitutionalisation). Participating countries exchanged experiences on creating new social services in the community that support beneficiaries and their families along the life course (e.g. foster care, personal assistance, or respite care), with special focus on how to operate and finance them in a sustainable way. Experts from Greece and UNICEF also provided useful insights on progress made in Europe to move people out of institutional care and create more inclusive communities for children and persons with disabilities. Check out the BB Peer Review project