Population aging is not a burden

Vietnam's population is aging due to the increasing average life expectancy while the birth rate and death rate are decreasing. In order for population aging to not be a "burden" but actually a great achievement in significantly improving health, nutrition, and socio-economic development, it is necessary to immediately perfect and develop policies suitable to the reality of population aging.

Population aging will not be a burden, but actually an achievement of economic development and social security in Vietnam - Photo: Hoang Long

Aging population increases but "healthy" life expectancy is low

"Vietnam is entering a period of population aging and aging much faster than other countries" - Dr. Giang Thanh Long - (Deputy Director of the Institute of Policy and Management, National Economics University) said. Currently, the country has about 8.15 million elderly people, accounting for 9.45% of the total population (an increase of 0.7% compared to 2009). Of which, there are nearly 4 million people aged 60-69, 2.8 million people aged 70-79, 1.17 million people over 80 years old, and about 9,380 people over 100 years old. 72.9% of the elderly live in rural areas and 27.1% live in urban areas.

The immediate challenge of our country's aging population is "getting old before getting rich" and low "healthy" life expectancy. On average, each elderly person in Vietnam has to suffer from illness for 14 years out of a total of 72.2 years of his or her life. Currently, only 10% of the elderly receive regular health check-ups and 50% of the elderly have health insurance.

According to the Vietnam Association of the Elderly, there are currently very few hospitals or medical facilities dedicated to the elderly, especially a severe lack of elderly care centers and facilities. This has a major impact on economic growth as well as necessary social security programs to meet the needs of the elderly population, considered the most disadvantaged and vulnerable group.

According to the latest survey results of the General Statistics Office and the Population and Family Planning Census, the proportion of the population aged 60 and over in Vietnam will reach 10%, and the proportion of the population aged 65 and over will account for 7% of the total population in 2017, meaning that Vietnam's population will officially enter the aging stage from 2017. It is forecasted that by 2025, Vietnam will have an aging population structure. Compared to countries with higher levels of development, the rate of transformation of this population structure in Vietnam is "much shorter".

Director General of the General Department of Population and Family Planning Duong Quoc Trong said that when we were still in a young population structure, the State established a Committee for Child Care and Protection, building a child care network from the central to local levels. Meanwhile, caring for an elderly person costs 8 times more than a child. "Should we also establish a Committee for the Care and Protection of the Elderly?"

The elderly, a priceless asset, need to be respected and promoted for their life experience and experience. They are a group of people who are considered a living treasure for generations to learn and study, "the older the ginger, the spicier it is". The voice of the elderly is a prestigious voice in the village, a "red address" to support local organizations. But first of all, they need to be respected by each family. With appropriate solutions and policies for the elderly, we will not have to shoulder a large burden of health care and social security in the future.

Continue to have appropriate social security policies for the elderly.

One issue of concern is that the number of elderly women in our country is more dominant than that of elderly men. This is a manifestation of the phenomenon of "feminization of the elderly population". Elderly women often face more risks than elderly men in terms of income, disability status, and access to health care services and health insurance.

On the other hand, the elderly account for a large proportion in rural areas. This means that only about 9-30% of the elderly have pensions or receive social benefits, while our pension funds are depleted and no longer adapt to changes in population structure. Because we are operating on a self-financing basis, if the number of elderly increases and the number of workers decreases, the pension fund will be depleted.

Mr. Bruce Campbell - Chief Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam said that development policies and strategies in Vietnam need to be built on the basis of the correlation between population aging and economic growth, as well as social services and social security needs for the elderly.

Domestic and international experts also emphasized: Vietnam is at a unique moment in history to develop policies and interventions to positively and deeply impact the improvement of the lives and health of the increasingly growing elderly population. At that time, population aging will not be a burden, but truly an achievement of economic development and social security. The Law on the Elderly, issued at the end of 2009, has focused a lot on the benefits that the elderly enjoy, such as policies on support, health care for the elderly, social protection policies, etc.

The Government issued Decree 67 on social assistance policies, including the elderly, in 2007. In previous years, Decree 67 of the Government only applied to the elderly who were single, disabled and aged 90, then down to 85. However, since January 1, 2011, this policy has been applied to the elderly from the age of 80. In addition to the health insurance and funeral expenses, the monthly subsidy in the province has also been increased from VND120,000 to VND180,000/month.

In addition, the Draft Population - Reproductive Health Strategy 2011-2020 submitted by the Ministry of Health to the Government has set a target of at least 50% of the elderly receiving community-based health care. The Draft "Social Security Strategy for the 2011-2020 period" under construction also proposes a number of long-term solutions such as increasing the retirement age or increasing social insurance contributions. The project "Community-based Elderly Care and Counseling" has been piloted in 7 provinces and cities: Hai Phong, Bac Giang, Thai Binh, Nghe An, Da Nang, Ben Tre and Tay Ninh...

With comprehensive proactive and positive preparation, when the proportion of elderly people increases, there will be enough capacity to provide services that meet the requirements, avoiding "shocks" for the elderly as well as the whole society.

According to DaiDoanket