OLD AGE AS A SOCIAL RISK: NORTHEAST REGION'S CONDITION AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

The article addresses one of the key social risks - old age, within one of the Macedonian planning regions, where the findings of the analysis of old age as a social risk in the Northeast region are presented. The analysis identifies the needs and availability of social services and benefits for the elderly in this region, as well as the resources and capacities for social protection of the elderly in the region. The analyzes show that the highly centralized system of social protection does not sufficiently recognize and articulate the needs of the growing elderly population in an extremely unfavorable context of high poverty and social exclusion, further aggravated by the intensified trend of the emigration of younger people from this region. In the absence of sufficient financial resources and institutional capacities, the municipalities in the Northeast region, as a matter of fact, as well as in the entire country, have not yet built efficient systems of support and care for the social needs of the elderly, as well as adequate information and databases for the types of vulnerability of the elderly, their specific needs and limitations, which would further be used to prepare appropriate local programs and solutions based on the needs of the elderly. Finally, based on the summary observations, several recommendations are offered for improved addressing of the situations with old age as a social risk in the Northeast region.