In Portugal, the population is living "for more years, but the additional years are not of quality, they are years of illness," pointed out Ana Abrunhosa, at the opening session of the 12th Congress on Active and Healthy Aging of the Central Region.

Although she admitted that aging should not be seen as a problem, but as a success, she said that it is necessary to know how to age, with municipalities having the role of promoting health literacy.

"Aging is a challenge" that, to be seen as an opportunity, needs innovation, which results from a multidisciplinary vision, with joint action, she stressed.

In her speech, the mayor of Coimbra reminded everyone that the Multidisciplinary Institute of Aging (MIA) in Portugal will be inaugurated soon.

The project, funded with €15 million by the European Commission, in addition to national funds through the Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) of the Center, has international and national partners, such as the University of Coimbra (UC), and is expected to begin operating in 2026.

The initiative will operate in the former Coimbra Paediatric Hospital and will have between 200 and 220 researchers and up to 65 technicians to produce knowledge that contributes to healthy aging.

Ana Abrunhosa assured that the MIA is an intergenerational project for the city, designed to address the challenges of aging.

Multiple chronic diseases

According to the scientific director of the MIA in Portugal, Manuel Santos, the population is aging with multiple chronic diseases, requiring an adaptation of the National Health Service (SNS).

Currently, people “are aging with multiple chronic diseases, with a very high prevalence,” a situation that “will worsen” because life expectancy will continue to increase rapidly.

Currently, “there is a huge list of chronic diseases,” highlighting the diversity, but also the prevalence from age 65 onwards, reaching 40% to 45% of the population.

Also present at the opening session, the president of the CCDR of the Center, Isabel Damasceno, considered Portugal to be an “aging country.”

For her, it is important to know how to turn the challenge of aging “into an opportunity to create more and better living conditions for all,” in areas such as education, health, improved spaces, mobility, and housing.