Excercising in the morning is one of the ways elderly Vietnamese aim to live a longer and healthier life. But providing adequate health care for them is a big challenge as the economic realities show the nation may not be able to cope. — VNS Photo Truong Vi
Anh said that providing adequate health care for the elderly was a big challenge, as the economic realities showed the nation could not afford to support them.
Ageing population
Viet Nam is on its way to becoming an ageing population. In 1989, 7.2 per cent of the total population were elderly, while last year the proportion of elderly rose to 9.45 per cent out of a total of 85 million people.
Nguyen Dinh Cu, director of the Institute of Population and Social Studies, said the nation was at the edge of becoming an ageing population as defined by a UN regulation stating that any country whose population of elderly is 10 per cent or more of the total population is an ageing population.
Anh’s office calculated that the proportion of older people would reach 11.4 per cent by 2020, while the UN calculated that it would be 26 per cent by 2050.
Data from the General Statistics Office say 70 per cent of the older people in Vietnam need healthcare services, but less than 20 per cent of them have a health insurance card for free health care.
The data also show that about 80 per cent of older people are living in rural areas without a health insurance card. Many hold out without insurance until they reach the age of 85, when they can get a free health insurance card.
In addition, according to Luong Ngoc Khue, deputy director of the Health Check and Service Department, among the 63 cities and provinces of Viet Nam, there are only 28 clinics with about 3,000 beds for elderly people.
Khue added: "Many elderly people don’t even consider going to hospitals as they think that diseases are an unavoidable result of old age."
"Many elderly only come or are taken to a hospital if they are in a serious condition," said Khue.
On the other hand, hospitals often lack staff and resources to treat elder people who often develop chronic diseases such as heart, diabetes and stroke conditions and need long-term treatment and lots of medicine.
The deputy director suggested the establishment of a healthcare fund for the elderly as well as a reduction on hospital fees to help older people.
At the two-day forum, representatives from Brunei shared their experiences in taking care of elderly people at home, considering that most of their diseases were not communicative and the fact that older people benefited from having their children and families close by when sick.
In Thailand, 1.7 million out of more than 7 million people aged 60 and over receive 500 baht (US$15) each per month as government support. All elderly people also have a health card that provides them with free health checks and treatment.
Forum participants today continue to discuss issues related to the elderly.
Source: Viet Nam News
December 30, 2008
VIET NAM: Healthcare may buckle as elderly multiply
.
HA NOI / Viet Nam News / December 30, 2008
Viet Nam’s ageing population was increasing so fast that there is a danger that the nation’s already overburdened healthcare system won’t be able to cater to the growing ranks of the elderly.
The warning was made by Nguyen Quoc Anh from the General Office for Population, Family Planning at the ASEAN forum on ageing in Ha Noi yesterday.
Like other ASEAN countries, Viet Nam has a tradition of respect for older people and hope to give them adequate care, however, economic conditions are making that lofty goal difficult to ensure.
Excercising in the morning is one of the ways elderly Vietnamese aim to live a longer and healthier life. But providing adequate health care for them is a big challenge as the economic realities show the nation may not be able to cope. — VNS Photo Truong Vi
Anh said that providing adequate health care for the elderly was a big challenge, as the economic realities showed the nation could not afford to support them.
Ageing population
Viet Nam is on its way to becoming an ageing population. In 1989, 7.2 per cent of the total population were elderly, while last year the proportion of elderly rose to 9.45 per cent out of a total of 85 million people.
Nguyen Dinh Cu, director of the Institute of Population and Social Studies, said the nation was at the edge of becoming an ageing population as defined by a UN regulation stating that any country whose population of elderly is 10 per cent or more of the total population is an ageing population.
Anh’s office calculated that the proportion of older people would reach 11.4 per cent by 2020, while the UN calculated that it would be 26 per cent by 2050.
Data from the General Statistics Office say 70 per cent of the older people in Vietnam need healthcare services, but less than 20 per cent of them have a health insurance card for free health care.
The data also show that about 80 per cent of older people are living in rural areas without a health insurance card. Many hold out without insurance until they reach the age of 85, when they can get a free health insurance card.
In addition, according to Luong Ngoc Khue, deputy director of the Health Check and Service Department, among the 63 cities and provinces of Viet Nam, there are only 28 clinics with about 3,000 beds for elderly people.
Khue added: "Many elderly people don’t even consider going to hospitals as they think that diseases are an unavoidable result of old age."
"Many elderly only come or are taken to a hospital if they are in a serious condition," said Khue.
On the other hand, hospitals often lack staff and resources to treat elder people who often develop chronic diseases such as heart, diabetes and stroke conditions and need long-term treatment and lots of medicine.
The deputy director suggested the establishment of a healthcare fund for the elderly as well as a reduction on hospital fees to help older people.
At the two-day forum, representatives from Brunei shared their experiences in taking care of elderly people at home, considering that most of their diseases were not communicative and the fact that older people benefited from having their children and families close by when sick.
In Thailand, 1.7 million out of more than 7 million people aged 60 and over receive 500 baht (US$15) each per month as government support. All elderly people also have a health card that provides them with free health checks and treatment.
Forum participants today continue to discuss issues related to the elderly.
Source: Viet Nam News
Excercising in the morning is one of the ways elderly Vietnamese aim to live a longer and healthier life. But providing adequate health care for them is a big challenge as the economic realities show the nation may not be able to cope. — VNS Photo Truong Vi
Anh said that providing adequate health care for the elderly was a big challenge, as the economic realities showed the nation could not afford to support them.
Ageing population
Viet Nam is on its way to becoming an ageing population. In 1989, 7.2 per cent of the total population were elderly, while last year the proportion of elderly rose to 9.45 per cent out of a total of 85 million people.
Nguyen Dinh Cu, director of the Institute of Population and Social Studies, said the nation was at the edge of becoming an ageing population as defined by a UN regulation stating that any country whose population of elderly is 10 per cent or more of the total population is an ageing population.
Anh’s office calculated that the proportion of older people would reach 11.4 per cent by 2020, while the UN calculated that it would be 26 per cent by 2050.
Data from the General Statistics Office say 70 per cent of the older people in Vietnam need healthcare services, but less than 20 per cent of them have a health insurance card for free health care.
The data also show that about 80 per cent of older people are living in rural areas without a health insurance card. Many hold out without insurance until they reach the age of 85, when they can get a free health insurance card.
In addition, according to Luong Ngoc Khue, deputy director of the Health Check and Service Department, among the 63 cities and provinces of Viet Nam, there are only 28 clinics with about 3,000 beds for elderly people.
Khue added: "Many elderly people don’t even consider going to hospitals as they think that diseases are an unavoidable result of old age."
"Many elderly only come or are taken to a hospital if they are in a serious condition," said Khue.
On the other hand, hospitals often lack staff and resources to treat elder people who often develop chronic diseases such as heart, diabetes and stroke conditions and need long-term treatment and lots of medicine.
The deputy director suggested the establishment of a healthcare fund for the elderly as well as a reduction on hospital fees to help older people.
At the two-day forum, representatives from Brunei shared their experiences in taking care of elderly people at home, considering that most of their diseases were not communicative and the fact that older people benefited from having their children and families close by when sick.
In Thailand, 1.7 million out of more than 7 million people aged 60 and over receive 500 baht (US$15) each per month as government support. All elderly people also have a health card that provides them with free health checks and treatment.
Forum participants today continue to discuss issues related to the elderly.
Source: Viet Nam News
