VietNamNet Bridge – The rate of population aging in Viet Nam is progressing rapidly, so due attention should be paid to caring and protecting the elderly, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said on September 28.

The old (and young) exercise daily near Hoan Kiem (Sword) Lake in Ha Noi. — VNS Photo Viet Thanh

He spoke at an event kicking off month-long activities to honour the elderly and marking the 27th anniversary of the International Day of the Elderly.

Viet Nam is one of the five countries with fastest rate of population aging in the world, and by 2050 some 25 per cent of Vietnamese will be elderly people, Vietnam News Agency reported. Currently, the country’s 10.1 million elderly people account for 11 per cent of the population.

In his address, the deputy PM noted that 26 years ago the United Nations decided to observe October 1 as the International Day of the Elderly. “In Viet Nam, ranging from the Constitution to the Law on the Elderly and other related official documents, all have vowed to give the best care to the elderly,” Dam said.

In 2012 the Government adopted a National Programme of Action for the elderly and decided to observe October as the month of action for elderly people.

By 2025 Vietnamese elderly people will account for 17 per cent and the figure will rise to 25 per cent by 2050. That’s why taking care of the elderly has become an important mission of the Vietnamese Government, Dam said.

Among attendees at the event were Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Poliburo member and Chairwoman of the National Assembly, Truong Thi Mai, Chairwoman of the Party Central Committee for Mass Mobilisation, and Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, Chairwoman of the Viet Nam Elderly Association (VEA).

Addressing the meeting, Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, chairwoman of the VEA, said the organisation has some nine million members, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the old people nation-wide.

“The VEA has organised many activities for the elderly to improve their material and spiritual life,” Chuyen said. 

VNS