Long-term care providers: The roles, rights, and needs of paid and unpaid caregivers

This joint technical brief by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) examines the roles, rights, and needs of paid and unpaid long-term care providers in the Americas. It shows that care systems depend largely on women working under precarious and often invisible conditions, with unpaid caregivers making up around 80% of providers. Paid caregivers frequently face low wages, limited training, and restricted access to social protection, while the region faces a significant workforce shortage.

The brief calls for coordinated, multisectoral action to professionalize care work, improve working conditions, expand formal care services, and better recognize and support unpaid caregivers to ensure equitable, person-centred, and rights-based care.