In China, people over the age of 60 years are forecast to make up over a third of the population by 2050. This huge shift in the population will require drastic changes and new integrated models of health care, community services and home-based support to provide holistic care for the wellbeing of over 402 million people by 2040. 

China faces big challenges to the success of meeting the needs of older people in an age-friendly society.  Social and health care for older people is segmented and is not older person centred; and the accessibility to integrated health care services varies across different geographical areas, particularly posing a problem in rural areas which have a higher proportion of older people.

To help overcome these challenges the WHO China office is working closely with the China government to implement WHO guidelines on Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE), and has recently developed a national five year plan on healthy ageing based on the recommendations.  The principles of the plan include:

• Working towards the incorporation of essential health care services in China’s long-term care facilities for older people, to ensure optimal prevention, early diagnosis and treatment for functional decline and noncommunicable diseases;
• Long-term care insurance, which has been initiated in 15 pilot cities since 2016;
•  Encouraging local pilot programs of community-based long term care service delivery; and
• Working closely with the disease control sector on health promotion and chronic disease prevention.