Policymaking for health care for the elderly in Vietnam wasdiscussed by domestic and foreign legal and health experts during aconference in Hanoi on May 26.

Participants focused their discussion on the challenges in caring for the aged population in Vietnam.

DeputyDirector of the Health Ministry’s General Office for Population andFamily Planning, Nguyen Van Tan said the ageing population is posing achallenge to Vietnam’s health sector, as healthcare services for theelderly are suffering from a number of shortcomings.

Statisticsshow that there were more than 8.6 million elderly people of 60 yearsold and above in 2011, accounting for nearly 10 percent of Vietnam’spopulation, while the rate of over 65-year-old was 7 percent and ispredicted to rise rapidly to 14.75 percent by 2039. Older Vietnamesepeople mainly live in rural areas and over 70 percent of them must earntheir living themselves.

According to Prof. Pham Van Thang fromthe National Geriatric Hospital, medical expenses for this group, whichtakes up to 50 percent of society’s medicine, are 7-10 times higher thanthose of young people. The elderly often suffer from diseases such ashigh blood pressure, diabetes and cancer and need to be treated for therest of their lives, he said.

Vietnam issued the Law on theElderly in 2009 and also established the National Committee on Ageingand launched a national action programme on this group.

Participants suggested that Vietnam should set a long-term strategyto slow down the ageing population and maintain an appropriate birthrate, while diversifying healthcare services for the elderly.
France’s models for caring for the elderly in hospitals and rest-homes were also introduced at the conference.-VNA