Ministries urged to improve care for the elderly

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has urged the Ministry of Health to establish additional geriatric wards in hospitals and coordinate with the Vietnam Social Insurance to intensify healthcare access for the elderly – who currently number 9.4 million, accounting for 10.45 percent of the total population.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has urged the Ministry of Health toestablish additional geriatric wards in hospitals and coordinate withthe Vietnam Social Insurance to intensify healthcare access for theelderly – who currently number 9.4 million, accounting for 10.45 percentof the total population.

Under Vietnam’s law, the elderly are persons of 60 years old and above.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ought to encourage theoperation of exchange clubs and reduce entrance fees to visit historicaland cultural relic sites for the elderly to assist with their spiritualand cultural life, requested Dam, who is also Head of the NationalCommittee for Elderly People.

The Ministry ofLabour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) is responsible forexpanding the network of social support facilities and raising publicawareness of such facilities’ benefits to the elderly themselves andtheir families.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Financeis to work with relevant ministries, sectors and localities to reviewpolicies relating to the elderly for timely adjustments and supplements.

According to the MoLISA, nearly 2.8 million peopleare currently receiving retirement pensions and social insurancebenefits and over 1.5 million benefit from monthly social allowance,nearly 1.4 million of whom are 80 years old and above.

Geriatric wards have been established in provincial-level hospitals in49 out of the 63 provinces and cities nationwide. Nearly 5,600 hospitalbeds have been prioritised for the elderly and over 2.3 million elderlyare currently receiving periodic medical check-ups.

Vietnam issued the Law on the Elderly in 2009. The country hasalso established the National Committee for the Elderly and launched anational action programme to support senior citizens.-VNA

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