The United Nations General Assembly celebrates the International Day of Families every year on May 15, reflecting the importance that the international community attaches to this institution. It also aims to be an occasion to promote a better knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes that affect this important nucleus of society. "Families, a healthy life and a sustainable future" is the slogan chosen for this year.

It is a reality that the family is a basic pillar in the provision of care. Without the active participation of the family, it would be difficult to achieve the objectives set by the health and social systems.

As an example, there are at least 950,528 caregivers of sick and dependent people in our country, representing 6% of the population over 18 years of age. If it were not for the family caregivers, who devote a significant part of their lives to caring for their family members and dedicate a average of 70 hours a week to this task, most of the sick people would not be able to survive.

A report presented by the high school International of programs of study on the Family (TFW, 2102) points out that "the care needs of the elderly continue to grow". The aging of the population is such that, in 30 years, the 65-year-old population has doubled and there is an increasing issue number of people over 80 years of age. position Neither the State nor the private sector can take on the responsibility of caring for these people", he says. The family is referred to as the "silent giant" that meets these care needs.

In the healthcare field, the family caregiver is considered to be the "hidden patients", since it is this institution which, for the most part, takes care of the sick and dependent persons at home position .

Therefore, healthcare professionals cannot ignore the fact that caring for a chronically ill person, due to its characteristics, mainly based on long-term care, can have consequences for the entire family nucleus, altering its dynamics and normal structure and generating changes in communication patterns, relationships and family roles and, therefore, the need for financial aid to manage their wellbeing.

A study carried out at the University of Navarra with Navarre families caring for dependent elderly people, has shown the deep suffering that this reality generates in the family, leading to a status of risk, vulnerability and clear social exclusion.

The same study supports the need for promote what we have called a "Sustainable Family Caregiver", a novel and emerging concept whose purpose is to work for the future sustainability of the family caregiver.

We refer to "a family that can play its role as caregiver, and at the same time is able to carry out its family life project , that is able to continue with its own life based on its family strengths and using those resources that positively reinforce the task of caregiving".

What we propose is to work with a positive family approach whose emphasis lies in the identification and reinforcement of the competencies, values and hopes of the family. Considering care as a process of opportunities and growth for the family unit.

To this end, the aim is to provide these families with the necessary skills to accept and cope with this status, based on a global commitment from everyone and offering them the resources and opportunities so that they can continue to carry out their caregiving work, without losing their human development . This means having the opportunity to freely choose to exercise the role of caregiver with public support and access to the benefits of the social protection system, helping them professionally to find meaning in the caregiving experience.

To conclude, as I claimed in United Nations (2001), we experts must become aware that we cannot maintain the traditional notion that the family must take care of the integral care of all its members by relying on family solidarity and, above all, on its capacity to do so if we want to achieve a "Sustainable Caring Family".