In February 2020, Professor Shereen Hussein was invited by INRCA-IRCCS (National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing) – Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing, (Ancona, Italy) to discuss population ageing in the MENA region.
Following a presentation explaining the challenges and opportunities associated with population Ageing in the MENA region, the team discussed ways of learning from the experience of countries like Italy. In particular, they discussed the role of social capital, especially that of the family and community, continues to play an important role in the provision of care to older people.
Giovanni Lamura discussed how the MENA region can learn from the Italian experience when formulating and implementing long term care policies. Specific to this experience are policies aiming at reducing social isolation at old age and making use of community support and volunteering.
Interview with Claudia Di Matteo, an international social worker reflecting on knowledge translation of her research experience to the Middle East context.
Founder and Director
Shereen Hussein is a Health and Social Care Policy professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), United Kingdom.
Shereen Founded the MENARAH Network in 2019, through an initial grant from the Global Challenge Research Fund, UKRI. She is a medical demographer with expertise in ageing, family dynamics, migration and long-term care systems. Shereen regularly collaborates with the United Nations, the World Health Organisation and the World Bank in policy and research focused on ageing in the Middle East and North Africa Region.
Shereen received her undergraduate degree in statistics and a postgraduate degree in computer science at Cairo University. She completed an MSc in medical demography at the London School of Hygiene and a PhD in quantitative demography and population studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom.
Director of Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing, Italy’s National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing, Ancona, Italy
Giovanni Lamura leads the Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing at INRCA (Italy’s National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing). He graduated in Economics, achieved a PhD in “Life course and social policy” (University of Bremen, Germany), and was visiting fellow at University of Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany) and the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy & Research (Austria). Research interests: international research on family and long-term care; migrant care work; interdisciplinary research on ageing.
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