Sancti Spiritus, Cuba -This central province, one of the three with the largest aged populations in the country, on Fridayreported a population ageing rate of 21.7percent, higher than the national rate.

According to the Center for Population and Development Studies of the National Bureau of Statistics and Information, in early 2019, in addition to Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara and Havana continued to figure among the provinces with the largest numbers of older persons.

Sancti Spiritus, located about 350 kilometers east of Havana, has a population of approximately 101,440 people aged 60 and over, and the municipalities with the highest rates of ageing are Fomento, Cabaiguan and Yaguajay, as reported by the newspaper Escambray digital.

This social problem, combined with the fall of the birth rate, is the focus of attention of the Provincial Working Group for Demographic Studies.

Among the measures in this regard fostered in Sancti Spiritus are the repair of Older Peoples' Community Centers and Nursing Homes, and prioritized follow-up for the elderly through Social Assistance programs.

During the last five years, the Ministry of Public Health has rehabilitated five of the nine Community Centers and three of the eight Nursing Homes in the territory, the newspaper highlighted, based on a recent report by the Provincial Administration Council.

Social assistance in the home, cash benefits and the presence of adults in gastronomic units of the Family Care System appear among the services provided to this age group.