VietNamNet Bridge – The population of Vietnam started ageing in 2011 and it took the country 17-20 years to have an ageing population, much shorter than in developed countries.

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Mai Xuan Phuong of the General Department of Population and Family Planning told a conference on Vietnam’s population in HCMC on Monday that lower fertility and mortality rates, and longer life expectancy are the main reasons for the population ageing.

It takes developed countries dozens of years or even a century to enter the stage of population ageing while Vietnam faces the problem after a period of 17-20 years.

The life expectancy of people aged over 60 in Vietnam is equivalent to other developed nations and tends to rise in the coming years. Experts forecast Vietnam will have had an extremely old population by 2050.

Even though the ratio of the elderly in Vietnam is quite high, up to 70% of the old people have to earn a living on their own or rely on family support. Only 25% of the elderly live on their pensions or social welfare.

More than 72% of the elderly live with their offsprings. Meanwhile, traditional Vietnamese families are in transition towards nuclear family. A lack of agricultural land and unfavorable conditions for prodution have made it more difficult for the elderly to earn a living. In addition to poverty and diseases, population ageing has been spelling trouble for Vietnam.

Phuong said not many elderly people know about what benefits and social welfare they can get from the Government. Around 30% of the old people are not covered by health insurance and nearly 50% could not afford high medical treatment fees.

“Social welfare and healthcare services for the elderly have not met demand yet. At present, there is no hospital specially designed for old people,” Phuong stressed.

According to Phuong, the elderly have not received adequate attention and care from the community and some people consider them a burden. Old people should be taken care of and appreciated by everyone.

Moreover, there should be a long-term strategy to slow the ageing of the population. “Everyone joins hands to take care of the elderly” is the message of this year’s Vietnamese Population Day on December 26.