Editorial: La Vanguardia

• The aging of the population and the rise in dependency are significant challenges for advanced societies.
• The Law of Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Care for People in Situations of Dependency, in force in Spain for almost eighteen years, was created to assist vulnerable people.
• Despite this law, there are nearly 300,000 dependents on waiting lists.
• Last year, over 45,000 dependent people died without receiving the assistance they were legally entitled to.
• Underfunding is a significant cause of this situation, affecting both the Central Government and autonomous governments.
• Despite a shock plan in 2020 that increased the Central Government's contribution, it remains insufficient.
• Some autonomous communities have decreased their contributions to dependency, using funds for other purposes.

Conclusion: It is critical to address the needs of dependent people. While deficits in service provision can be understood, it is unacceptable to reduce contributions to dependency simply because of the arrival of new funds. It is of utmost importance that governments prioritize and adequately fund these services.

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