Caring for the elderly is really a burden in Vietnam nowadaysas the population is aging rapidly, local media reported.

According to statistics of the Ministry of Health, many elderly people live with diseases for a long time and encounter many difficulties in daily activities, leading to the increasing need for caring and supporting them.

A perspective of a high-tech healthcare complex in Hanoi’s outskirt district

Without proper investment in the healthcare system right now, population aging issues will be a burden for the country in the coming period.

According to the Department of Social Protection under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, there are currently about 11.3 million elderly people in Vietnam, of them, 350,000 people aged 90 and older, 1.8 million people are over 80 years old.

Vietnam’s average life expectancy is 73.6 years old, but the number of senior population who live with good health is small. On average, an elderly person has three chronic diseases. It is estimated that the ratio of elderly people over the total population will increase to 20% by 2035.

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Quynh from the United Nations Population Fund in Vietnam said that in 2017, one out of every eight people in the world is over 60 years old; in Vietnam, the proportion is one out of nine.

Quynh emphasized that the elderly population, aged more than 75, is expected to double to 5 million by 2035. By 2050, Vietnam will be among the countries with the oldest population together with Japan and South Korea.

Therefore, experts recommend that Vietnam take action to prepare for the aging population scenario.