Minister Slobodan Lalović announced construction of 20 new gerontology centres in Serbia

Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Policy of Serbia, Slobodan Lalović, stated that the Ministry would provide funds for construction of 50 smaller gerontology centres in Serbia in 2007.

He explained in the Gerontology Centre in Leskovac that those care centres would be able to receive about 50 people and that they would be built in the areas that lack such institutions.

- That is necessary because, unfortunately, Serbia is one of ten countries with the oldest population. Every sixth citizen is older than 65. That is a crushing information when total demographic structure of the population is taken into consideration - said he.

The Minister warned that Serbia, if nothing changed in the future, would soon have one fourth, or even one third of citizens older than 65. He added that the system of services would be developed in the future in the local community, so that the older people could stay longer at their homes.