An ageing population is posing a challenge to Vietnam’s health sector ashealthcare services for the elderly are suffering from a number ofshortcomings.
Director of the Health Ministry’s Department ofMedical Services Luong Ngoc Khue said that the network of healthcarecentres for this group remains inefficient with a low budget and a lackof specialists and nurses. Caring for the elderly is mainly undertakenby relatives and untrained people, creating extra problems, he added.
According to the latest population census,there were more than 8.6 million aged 60 years old and above in 2011,accounting for nearly 10 percent of the population, while the rate ofover 65-year-olds was 7 percent.
A country isconsidered to have an ageing population when the rate of 60 years oldand above reaches 10 percent or the rate of 65-year-old and above is 7percent. Once the rates reach 20 percent and 14 percent respectively,the country will have an aged population.
Experts have warned that the transitional period from an ageingpopulation to an aged population in Vietnam will be about 18-20 years,much shorter than in other countries such as France (115 years), Sweden(85 years), the US (70 years) and Japan (26 years).
Arthur Arken, Country Director of the UN Population Fund in Vietnam,said that while population ageing is taking place in all regions and allcountries, Vietnam is recording one of the fastest rates in Asia.
On the other hand, the lifespan of thecountry’s elderly is also increasing. In 1979, the rate of 80-years-oldand above accounted for 0.54 percent of the total population. It rose to0.7 percent, 0.93 percent and 1.47 percent in 1989, 1999, and 2009respectively.
In spite of the growing lifeexpectancy, 95 percent of Vietnamese elderly are burdened withnon-transmitted chronic diseases.
Meanwhile, medicalexpenses for this group, who takes up to 50 percent of the society’smedicine, are 7 – 10 times higher than that for young people.
Vietnam issued the Law on the Elderly in 2009, established theNational Committee on Ageing and launched a national action programme onthis group.
Only when caring for the elderly isconsidered as work that reflects the country’s moral standards andculture can it receive adequate material and human resource investment,experts have argued.-VNA
Director of the Health Ministry’s Department ofMedical Services Luong Ngoc Khue said that the network of healthcarecentres for this group remains inefficient with a low budget and a lackof specialists and nurses. Caring for the elderly is mainly undertakenby relatives and untrained people, creating extra problems, he added.
According to the latest population census,there were more than 8.6 million aged 60 years old and above in 2011,accounting for nearly 10 percent of the population, while the rate ofover 65-year-olds was 7 percent.
A country isconsidered to have an ageing population when the rate of 60 years oldand above reaches 10 percent or the rate of 65-year-old and above is 7percent. Once the rates reach 20 percent and 14 percent respectively,the country will have an aged population.
Experts have warned that the transitional period from an ageingpopulation to an aged population in Vietnam will be about 18-20 years,much shorter than in other countries such as France (115 years), Sweden(85 years), the US (70 years) and Japan (26 years).
Arthur Arken, Country Director of the UN Population Fund in Vietnam,said that while population ageing is taking place in all regions and allcountries, Vietnam is recording one of the fastest rates in Asia.
On the other hand, the lifespan of thecountry’s elderly is also increasing. In 1979, the rate of 80-years-oldand above accounted for 0.54 percent of the total population. It rose to0.7 percent, 0.93 percent and 1.47 percent in 1989, 1999, and 2009respectively.
In spite of the growing lifeexpectancy, 95 percent of Vietnamese elderly are burdened withnon-transmitted chronic diseases.
Meanwhile, medicalexpenses for this group, who takes up to 50 percent of the society’smedicine, are 7 – 10 times higher than that for young people.
Vietnam issued the Law on the Elderly in 2009, established theNational Committee on Ageing and launched a national action programme onthis group.
Only when caring for the elderly isconsidered as work that reflects the country’s moral standards andculture can it receive adequate material and human resource investment,experts have argued.-VNA
