We Care for Our Elderly

The hand of an elderly person clasped in that of a younger one, with a stethoscope below. Above, the issuing state 'ANDORRA' is rendered as a kind of protective shelter keeping coronavirus particles at bay. The occasion 'CUIDEM LA NOSTRA GENT GRAN' runs along the upper edge, and the year '2021' appears to the left.

The Covid-19 pandemic hit older people particularly hard around the world — and Andorra, the small Pyrenean principality of around 77,000 inhabitants, was no exception. In spring 2020, the country recorded one of the highest per-capita infection rates in Europe, hardly surprising given its close ties with neighbouring Spain. The Andorran government responded with strict protective measures aimed especially at the most vulnerable group: elderly people in care homes and at home. Solidarity between generations became a socially visible value during this period, sustained by neighbourly help, professional caregivers and government coordination.

Despite its small size, Andorra has a well-developed healthcare system based on the national hospital, SAAS (Servei Andorrà d'Atenció Sanitària). Care for older population groups has long held a firm place within it, and during the pandemic this task moved to the centre of public awareness. Solidarity with the older generation — in Catalan, "la nostra gent gran", meaning "our elderly people" — became the guiding idea of a societal debate that extended far beyond Andorra. To mark this exceptional response to crisis and as a token of recognition for caregivers and those in their care, Andorra issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2021 that places the theme of intergenerational care, shaped by the experience of the pandemic, at its centre.