HCM City officials present gifts to some elders. — Photo www.hcmcpv.org.vn

HCM CITY — In order to improve healthcare for the elderly, HCM City plans to pilot nursing centres under a model that calls for more participation of private investors and provides affordable care.

Accordingly, the city will encourage businesses and organisations to invest in geriatric health care, providing better services at affordable cost.

The city has prepared a detailed plan on implementing the programme, aiming to have at least ten of 22 districts adopt the new model by 2030.

Residents aged 60 and more will get health check-ups at least once a year, with coverage reaching 70 per cent of the total elderly population in 2025 and 100 per cent in 2030.

The city also aims at providing medical examination and treatment at home for 100 per cent of elderly people suffering from severe diseases or older people living alone in difficult circumstances.

The city now has a senior population of more than 840,000, with 98 per cent having health insurance.

The average life expectancy of the city is 76.6 years, higher than the national figure of 73.6 years.

The city’s population is aging fast and its fertility rate of 1.39 children per woman of reproductive age in 2019 is set to decrease in the near future.

The rapid aging of the population poses huge challenges, requiring the city to improve its social security and healthcare system for the elderly.

In 2011, Việt Nam began to enter an aging population period and is one of the countries with the fastest aging rates in the world.

The number of people 60 years and older accounted for 11.9 per cent of the total population in 2017.

According to the General Statistics Office, this group would account for about 21 million people by 2038, or 20 per cent of the population; and this would rise to 27 million or 25 per cent of the population by 2050.

About 70 per cent of deaths every year are caused by non-infectious diseases, of which 40 per cent happen to people under 70.

Non-infectious diseases account for about 400,000 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Non-infectious diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, mental illness and cancer, affect longevity and the quality of life. They are the number one killer today, with more than 70 per cent of deaths caused by cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.

The number of cases increases significantly from the age of 40 due to aging, inadequate nutrition, high consumption of tobacco and alcohol, stress, and other factors.

The Ministry of Health has set a target of having the death toll of non-infectious diseases fall 20 per cent by 2025. — VNS