"I appeal here to politicians, private sector actors and the APS [Portuguese Insurers Association] to effectively reach solutions or at least to mitigate" the kind of problems that already exist, said Isabel Vaz, chief executive of the Luz Saúde group, at the annual APS conference on Thursday in Lisbon, whose theme is 'Age never comes alone: how to respond to the challenges of life'.

"We must join all the forces of society to find solutions for our country ... to solve this problem,” she said.

Vaz said that the APS and Portugal's National Health Service (SNS) have lots of data to help with this task.

"We are facing a brutal challenge,” she stressed, highlighting the costs to society of an agening population and warning against the distractions of a media debate about public versus private healthcare, which she said does not help in finding solutions.

Vaz also noted that Portugal is a country with a heavy burden of illness, pointing out the high prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and dementia in the population.

"About 50% of all of us will have cancer, about 50% will have Alzheimer's, others will have both," she said.

In her speech, Vaz also mentioned the ageing of health professionals and highlighted the importance of the value that older people can offer society, far beyond the costs that may be associated with them.