The aging population in Ho Chi Minh City is happening rapidly
On April 1, the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society held a monitoring session in Ho Chi Minh City on the implementation of policies and laws on population in the period of 2018-2024.
At the supervision session, Dr. Nguyen Van Vinh Chau - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that the number of elderly people in the city is increasing rapidly starting from 2017. Also this year, the city officially entered the population aging period, 6 years later than the whole country, when the population rate of 60 years old and over reached 10.28%. However, the aging rate is very fast.
As of 2024, the proportion of elderly people will increase to 11.87%, with a total of more than 1.1 million people. Within 7 years (2017-2024), the number of elderly people increased by about 243,500 people, an average increase of nearly 35,000 people/year.
The rapid increase shows that the aging population in the city is surpassing previous forecasts. This poses an urgent need for policies and social infrastructure to ensure the quality of life for the growing elderly population.
Expanding and perfecting the elderly support system
The Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health emphasized that the population is aging rapidly, but currently, access to full consultation and health care services for the elderly is still limited.
The health care system has not kept up with the increasing rate of population aging. There is currently no system to collect reports on the healthy life expectancy of the city's residents.
In addition, the total birth rate of Ho Chi Minh City is currently very low (in 2024 it is 1.39 children/woman), ranked in the group of 21 provinces and cities with low birth rates. This causes many consequences such as faster population aging, shortage of labor resources, and impact on social security.
The city recommends that the Central Government should develop, perfect and synchronously implement policies for the elderly in the context of economic development, ensuring social security; develop policies to encourage and support the elderly to participate in economic activities, especially the elderly with high qualifications, expertise and techniques.
Reform the pension system, diversify insurance types. Area planning must adapt to population aging. Have policies to support and attract economic sectors to participate in investing in nursing home services.
Mr. Ta Van Ha, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Society, highly appreciated the city's efforts in implementing population policies and providing grassroots health care. However, during the implementation process, some issues need to be attentioned to and resolved.
In particular, regarding health care, especially for the elderly, Ho Chi Minh City has had support policies, but the rate of elderly people receiving periodic health check-ups and care is still low compared to the requirements. The elderly support system also needs to be expanded and improved.
