Flaviopédia Português
Brazil that Prepares

Caring for the people we love

those who care for the ones they love cannot be left alone in this

Proposes a home accessibility subsidy for older people in lower-income families, a companionship app, more long-term care facilities, autism reference centers and more mental health care.

In the program: [p. 38, 39] · Translated by Flaviopédia from the official Portuguese text; the Portuguese quote is authoritative. Read the original in Portuguese

What the program says

Caring for someone who depends on you is one of the noblest gestures there is. But, when you are alone, that care becomes overwhelming. The mother of a small baby, the daughter of a father with Alzheimer’s, the family of a person with a disability: all face the same impossible choice between supporting the household and caring for those they love. This work, which almost always falls on the women of the family, is equivalent to about 8.5% of Brazilian GDP, an entire economy sustained by those who give up their own work to provide care. The State cannot take over this care in place of the family, but it can share it with the family. For children, and also for support to families who care for older people and people with disabilities, Brazil for Women already details the expansion of daycare centers, the daycare voucher and the “Rede Nacional de Cuidado” (“National Care Network”), with day centers and home care in partnership with states, municipalities and social organizations. [p. 38]

Brazil is aging fast, and the family has changed: households are smaller, more women work outside the home, more older people live alone and there are more chronic diseases. Caring for those who are aging has become a challenge the household cannot always handle. That is why, for the older population, we will offer the “Casa Segura para Envelhecer” (“Safe Home for Aging”) program, with a home accessibility subsidy for lower-income families. We will develop a companionship app with danger alerts, so that the older person has the support of technology and the son or daughter who lives far away has peace of mind. And we will expand long-term care facilities for older people, so that they receive special protection when family care is not viable or sufficient. The same care applies to people with disabilities and rare diseases, who face barriers every day and often rely on nothing but their own family for everything. Our policies will be cross-cutting, spanning all areas of government, focused on concrete actions to guarantee rights, inclusion and social integration, among them the establishment of Autism Spectrum Disorder Reference Centers. Promoting inclusion is not a cost: it is an investment with a high social and economic return, because every person who gains autonomy is an entire family that gains quality of life. Mental health is another face of care, and today it weighs on millions of families, almost always in silence. We will strengthen and expand mental health care, reaching the families who often face everything alone: early diagnosis and support for children with ADHD; care for depression and anxiety; and care for older people facing Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases, and for those who care for them. This is not about labels or bureaucracy, but about ensuring that those who need help find diagnosis, treatment and support close to home. Caring well for a child, an older person or a person with a disability is not a favor: it is what allows the rest of the family to work, study and live. A society that shares care is a society in which no one has to choose between family and their own future. [p. 39]

In plain language

  • The program states that the care of children, older people and people with disabilities almost always falls on the women of the family and is equivalent to about 8.5% of GDP. It says the State cannot take over this care in place of the family, but can share it with the family, and refers to Brazil for Women for daycare centers, the daycare voucher and the Rede Nacional de Cuidado.
  • For older people, it proposes the Casa Segura para Envelhecer program, with a subsidy to make homes accessible in lower-income families, a companionship app with danger alerts and the expansion of long-term care facilities for when family care is not possible or sufficient.
  • For people with disabilities and rare diseases, it provides for policies that cut across all areas of government, focused on guaranteeing rights, inclusion and social integration, among them the establishment of Autism Spectrum Disorder Reference Centers.
  • It proposes strengthening and expanding mental health care, with early diagnosis and support for children with ADHD, care for depression and anxiety, and care for older people with Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases and for those who care for them. The stated goal is to offer diagnosis, treatment and support close to home.

What is not in the program

  • It does not state the cost or funding source.
  • It does not define the amount of the Casa Segura para Envelhecer subsidy or what qualifies a family as lower-income.
  • It does not detail how the companionship app would work or who would operate it.
  • It gives no figures, targets or timelines for expanding long-term care facilities, the Autism Spectrum Disorder Reference Centers and mental health care.
  • It does not say who would carry out these measures or whether there would be partnerships with states, municipalities or social organizations, like the one cited for the Rede Nacional de Cuidado.