Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnamese people have a relativelylong life expectancy but many elderly have to 'co-habit' withdifferent illnesses for many years.

According to the General Department of Population and FamilyPlanning, the number of elderly people in Vietnam is expected to increase to16.8 million in 2039 and reach 25.2 million in 2069.

Currently, the average life expectancy of Vietnamese people is 73.6years with women having a longer life expectancy than men.

It is worth mentioning that, on average, the elderly in Vietnam suffer fromthree to four diseases.

Vietnamese people have a relatively high life expectancy compared to othercountries with the same standard of living, but have a higher number of yearsliving with illness.

Dr. Pham Vu Hoang, the general department’s deputy director, said that theissue of adapting to an aging population and caring for the health of theelderly is always a concern of the country because Vietnam is currently has oneof the fastest aging populations in the world.

Vietnam began its population aging period in 2011 with the number of peopleaged 65 and older accounting for 7% of the total population and after tenyears, the number rose to 8.3% of the total population, equivalent to8.16 million elderly people, Hoang said.

It is forecast that in Vietnam from 2036 the proportion ofthe population aged 65 and over will reach 14.2% of the total population, Hoangsaid.

An older population brings both opportunities and challenges.

Regarding opportunities, an older population can promote thedevelopment of fields such as insurance, banking, nutrition, tourism,technological innovation and applications of productionand management in the context of a shortage of labour.

However, an older population also poses serious challenges in economicgrowth, social security, labour, and infrastructure, especially in the field ofhealth care.

Elderly people often suffer from many non-communicable diseases that requirelong-term treatment such as blood pressure, cardiovascular disease,diabetes, dementia, hearing loss, and sleep disorders, among others.

Medical experts say that in order to help the elderly live happily, healthily,and usefully, mental health care for the elderly needs to be given moreattention along with physical health. Disease prevention plays animportant role, in which maintaining the habit of regular health checks,monitoring diseases and complying with medication use as prescribedby doctors is necessary.

The theme of Action Month 2023 of "The Elderly Are Fully Promoted andCared for" has a profound humanistic meaning, especially in thecontext of Vietnam being a country with a rapidly aging population.

In recent years, the Party and State have focused oncaring for and protecting the elderly, including medical care.

Many policies and programmes for health care in particular andcare for the elderly in general have been issued and implemented across thecountry.

Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 of the Party CentralCommittee on population has set the goal of adapting to an agingpopulation.

Vietnam’s Population Strategy to 2030 once again reaffirms thatgoal to contribute to rapid and sustainable development of the country./.