Abstract
This symposium details the state of the elder care workforce around the world. Reports from IAGG regional chairs indicate that while each region has specific needs and concerns, all uniformly report insufficient numbers of aging experts and the lack of available training to meet current and increasing demands. Our African regional chair, Isabella Aboderin, reports that while Sub Saharan Africa is among the youngest regions in the world, they are experiencing a widespread increase in the number of elders and have few specialized experts or training centers to prepare skilled professional to meet their needs. Latin America is facing a 47% increase in its aging and disabled population according to regional chair, Marianela Hekman. Although there is an impressive increase in the number of professionals interested in aging, Latin America faces a serious deficiency in educational programs targeting aging and looks to IAGG for guidance. North American regional chair, Kenneth Madden, provides insights concerning the aging professional work force in Canada where they have made concerted efforts to increase the number of aging professionals, but struggle with a very uneven distribution of resources. For example, one entire province may have one geriatric specialist while a city in another province has many. Finally, Clemens Tesch-Roemer reports from the European region and elaborates on their struggles with the future of informal and formal care and the education of elder care workforce. In short, each region offers insights into the world-wide struggle to prepare to meet the needs of our aging population.