Making Informal Care Visible in Cyprus

Eurocarers’ Executive Director, Shannon Pfohman, and Project and Membership Officer, Andrea Sánchez Caballero, visited Nicosia to support our newest member Thalpo hosting the first national workshop under the Carer-Led Organisation Development (CLOD) Programme and contributing to the Cyprus Forum 2026.

During the visit, we held advocacy meetings with the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, patients’ organisations and trade unions. The meetings put informal care on the policy agenda as an issue in its own right and recognised Thalpo as a key partner representing informal carers. We stressed that the definition of informal carers must reflect the full diversity of caregiving. The gender dimension of care was central to these conversations, as interrupted professional careers leave many women with  lower pensions and higher risk of poverty, a cycle rooted in a welfare model that has relied mainly on families. We also reinforced the need for a real Work-Care-Life balance.

At the heart of the visit was the participatory workshop “Making Informal Care Visible in Cyprus”, which created a space for informal carers themselves to reflect about the realities of informal care in Cyprus, identify common needs and feel empowered. Through reflective exercises they looked at how much care goes unseen every day and what 24 hours of care really looked like for them. For many, this was the very first time they shared their experiences and feelings out loud with other carers. They also reflected about combining care with employment and everyday life, often for more than one relative and how hard it can be to express their own needs. The workshop was a first step towards creating stronger support networks led by carers themselves in Cyprus.

To reach even more carer-led organisations and carers, we invite all Eurocarers members to share the CLOD Programme Needs Assessment Survey