Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà gives gifts to older people. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Ngọc

HẢI PHÒNG — The nation's older people are a valuable asset and an important resource for the country’s development, Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà told a ceremony held yesterday to launch this year's Action Month for Vietnamese Older Persons.

The Deputy PM said that the Party, State and people would always respect, recognise and express profound gratitude for the tremendous and invaluable contributions from older people.

Deputy PM Trà stressed that population ageing was an inevitable trend with far-reaching impacts on all aspects of socio-economic life.

She said facing this reality requires the social security and healthcare systems, as well as community-based forms of organisation, to be prepared with a long-term vision.

It also requires a fundamental shift in the approach to older persons – from providing basic care to delivering comprehensive and integrated care, from viewing older persons merely as beneficiaries to recognising them as an important resource for national development and from focusing solely on protection and care to harmoniously combining these efforts with the promotion of their role.

The Deputy PM asked ministries, sectors, localities and the Việt Nam Association of the Elderly to identify free medical examinations and screening as the core priority of the action month, which this year is themed 'Community partnership in providing integrated care for older persons amid population ageing'.

She requested that the Ministry of Health urgently review the provision of free screening and health examinations and instructed ministries and localities to continue raising awareness and strengthening responsibility, while renewing approaches to older-person care in order to proactively adapt to population ageing.

Work concerning older persons must be incorporated into the broader strategies for socio-economic development, human development, social security and the improvement of people’s quality of life, she added, while calling for thorough preparations for population ageing to be made early and with a long-term vision, so that current generations can enjoy healthy, active and happy future.

Greater attention should also be paid to those in difficult circumstances, those living alone, people in remote and disadvantaged areas and other vulnerable groups.

They should create conditions for older persons to continue working, contributing to society, passing on their trades and sharing their experience; help them access technology and narrow the digital divide; promote the development of the ‘silver economy’; and expand older-person care services.

Silver economy

At the ceremony, chairman of the Việt Nam Association of the Elderly Nguyễn Thanh Bình said that population ageing was a challenge to social security and appropriate policies should be introduced in a timely manner to create opportunities to develop the ‘silver economy’ at both national and local levels, while expanding industries and services involving products, technology, healthcare, health protection and models for protecting, caring for and promoting the role of older persons.

All levels of the association should step up communications efforts to bring about a profound change in public awareness of the position and role of older persons; provide practical care for their lives; and create useful activities and an enabling environment for them to continue contributing to the development of their communities and the country.

Association chapters at all levels should also proactively submit reports and provide timely advice to Party committees, authorities and the Việt Nam Fatherland Front, while proposing and promoting policies on population ageing, long-term care and the development of the ‘silver economy’.

These should be regarded as an important direction for adapting to population ageing at the local level.

Secretary of the Hải Phòng Municipal Party Committee and head of the municipal National Assembly Delegation Lê Ngọc Châu said that Hải Phòng currently has more than 713,000 older persons, accounting for approximately 15 per cent of the city’s population.

Over recent years, the city has introduced a number of practical, targeted policies to care for older persons, including raising the social pension to VNĐ700,000 (US$26) per month for certain groups of older persons in difficult circumstances; covering 100 per cent of health insurance premiums for people aged 60 to under 75; and increasing longevity and birthday celebration gifts from VNĐ900,000 ($34) to VNĐ3 million ($115), depending on age.

On this occasion, the Việt Nam Association of the Elderly and Hải Phòng City presented gifts to 10 exemplary older persons. — VNS