Vietnam should make proper preparations to take better care of the aging population that has been swelling up fast in recent years, according to health officials.

Vietnam's aging population has increased at a fast pace. (Source: Internet)

At the launch of the National Action Month on Population and celebrating the Vietnam Population Day (December 26) in Thai Binh province on December 2, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien emphasised the high life expectancy is an achievement of the healthcare sector and the result of social-economic development in many aspects, not a burden to society or economy.

Tien called on the whole society to commit to ensuring the healthy and happy life for the elderly and encourage them to take meaningful participation in society to take advantage of their rich real-life experience and knowledge.

He stressed the necessity to integrate the aging population and the elderly’ s needs into all national development programmes and policies, especially those on social security, diversify and improve the quality of healthcare services for the elderly, encourage and help them make contributions with their own conditions.

Ngo Trong Vinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of the Elderly, said Vietnam needs to have a strategy and a comprehensive solution to promptly resolve emerging problems when Vietnam becomes an aging country.

In Vietnam, 23.5 percent of the elderly is poor, around 100,000 elderly people are living alone, and a large number of the elderly is disabled.

Vietnam is one of the countries with the fastest aging population growth in the world and it takes the country a shorter time to shift from a country of aging population to the one of old population than developed countries.

The National Action Month has the theme of “Community joins hands to take care of the elderly”.

(Source: VNA)