Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly (NA) deputies on December 2 called for breakthrough mechanisms to mobilise social resources for elderly care, noting that Vietnam is projected to become an aged society by 2036 while State resources remain limited.
The issue was raised during discussions on a draft resolution on breakthrough policies and mechanisms for public health protection, care and improvement, as well as the investment policy for the national target programme on health care, population and development for the 2026–2035 period.
Tran Thi Hien, a deputy from Ninh Binh province, noted that Vietnam entered the population ageing phase in 2011 and is forecast to become an aged society by 2036 and a super-aged society by 2049. This placed considerable pressure on the state budget and social resources for health care, social security and infrastructure for older people, particularly professional nursing and long-term care facilities. In this context, stronger private sector engagement is seen as an urgent requirement.
However, she added, the draft resolution has yet to clearly identify breakthrough solutions to remove bottlenecks in the Resolution 72 implementation to develop elderly care facilities and encouraging private sector engagement.
According to the programme annex, existing social protection facilities currently meet only about 30% of demand. Public facilities number just 46 out of the 425 social protection establishments nationwide, or nearly 11%, while many localities lack specialised elderly care centres. The national target programme plans to build 60 facilities by 2030 and 70 by 2035, but sector planning estimates that at least 90 facilities are needed by 2030.
Hien, therefore, called for mechanisms to attract social resources to develop an additional 30 facilities over the next five years.
She also pointed out that legally mobilised non-state capital stands at only 594 billion VND (22.5 million USD), or 0.67%, far below actual needs. To unlock social resources, bottlenecks related to land and finance must be addressed. Nursing homes providing long-term care and rehabilitation are currently not classified as medical facilities and, therefore, do not enjoy land-use incentives. Given their high investment costs and long payback periods, these facilities require preferential credit, interest rate support, and corporate income tax incentives.
Hien proposed recognising nursing homes with medical, long-term care and rehabilitation functions as medical establishments, alongside completing technical standards, piloting semi-boarding care models and strengthening policies to attract private investment.
Sharing the view, Nguyen Van Manh, a deputy from Vinh Phuc province, said Vietnam is among the world’s fastest-ageing countries. While the Party has issued key resolutions such as Resolution 21 and Resolution 72, investment allocated to population and development components remains modest. For 2026–2030, only about 6 trillion VND, or 8.9% of the central budget allocation, is earmarked for population-related sub-projects.
He urged increased investment to meet the targets set in Resolution 72, including the requirement that each province/city have at least one geriatric hospital or a general hospital with a geriatric department. He also noted that the programme still relies overwhelmingly on state budget funding (99.33%) while social resources account for just 0.67%.
Deputy Duong Khac Mai from Lam Dong province highlighted the role of the social security system, particularly health insurance for older people. While supporting full coverage of medical expenses for those aged 75 and above, he proposed lowering the threshold to 70, given that healthy life expectancy in Vietnam is around 68 years.
Caring for older people, he said, is not only a social welfare policy but also an investment in sustainable development, reflecting the State’s sense of responsibility towards those who have contributed throughout their lives./.
