PM promises better social welfare for the elderly

PM Phuc gave the nod on September 29 while meeting leaders of  the Central Committee of the Vietnam Association of the Elderly and 30 outstanding old people in Hanoi on the occasion of International Day for Old Persons (October 1) and the Action Month for the Vietnamese Elderly.

The Government will continue studying social welfare policies and mechanisms to bring into full play valuable experience of the elderly, he said, stressing that strict punishments will be imposed on bad behaviours against old people as regulated in the Law on the Elderly.

PM Phuc affirmed that during the resistance wars or peacetime, the elderly have always made great contributions and been a backbone of each family.

President of the Vietnam Association of the Elderly Pham Thi Hai Chuyen revealed that the association now has over 100,000 chapters across the nation with 8.6 million members. Of the total, 1.24 million are joining Party, Front and study encouragement affairs or working as heads of resident areas, hamlets and villages, while over 5.7 million still earn their living.

Chuyen noted that one-third of the elderly has yet to benefit from social protection allowances or others, so they need more attention from the State and society.

Vietnam is one of the five countries with the fastest aging rates in the world. The nation is home to 10.1 million old people, or 11 percent of the population. The figure is forecast to rise to 20 percent by 2038, equivalent to 20 million people.

Therefore, the association proposed the Government carry out policies or institutions suitable for the population aging.