Nghe An population begins to age

(Baonghean.vn) – On the morning of April 1, the Vietnam Institute for Aging Research in collaboration with the Nghe An Provincial Association of the Elderly organized a scientific seminar on the current situation of basic needs for food, clothing, housing, transportation and health care for the elderly in Nghe An province.

Attending the seminar were Dr. Nguyen The Hue - Director of Nghe An Institute for Aging Research, Nghe An Provincial Association of the Elderly, representatives of leaders of departments, branches, sectors and associations of the elderly at all levels in districts, cities and towns in the province.

Scene of the seminar.

Accordingly, by the end of December 2015, the whole province had 352,457 elderly members, the elderly/population ratio was 10.65%, the number of people aged 100 or older was 1,252. The number of elderly people aged 80 or older averaged over 56,000 people per year. Thus, Nghe An has entered the population aging stage.

Notably, only 23% of the elderly are pensioners or receive social security, while the remaining 77% live in rural and mountainous areas and make a living from agriculture.

Faced with this situation, Nghe An province has taken practical actions to contribute to improving the spiritual and material life of the elderly. Campaigns and socialization are regularly organized and receive strong response from the whole population, helping many elderly people in difficult circumstances to have enough food and warm clothes.

Elderly people at the Elderly Club of Nghia Lien commune (Nghia Dan) participate in the program "Community-based consultation and health care for the elderly"

In particular, in the housing sector, from 2012 to now, temporary houses have been eliminated for 13,541 elderly people. This is a remarkable effort in the context of limited budget.

In terms of transportation, in recent years, infrastructure has been significantly improved, roads are spacious, and convenient means of transportation have helped the elderly have a more convenient life.

Elderly people performing arts.

However, to further improve the quality of life for the elderly and harmoniously resolve the aging population, the discussion also recorded many suggestions such as paying attention to increasing the proportion of elderly people with health insurance cards, paying attention to building exercise areas in public places, proposing the transport sector to reduce ticket prices for the elderly, increasing propaganda, raising awareness in the community about behavior towards the elderly, etc.

Phuong Chi