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Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung made the statement at a meeting with the Viet Nam Association of the Elderly on March 15.

“The elderly need healthcare the most,” he added.

Statistics from the Viet Nam Association of the Elderly, Việt Nam has more than 11.47 million elderly people, accounting for 12 per cent of the population, with more than 7.66 million living in rural areas. With care from the Party and State, the Law on the Elderly took effect on July 1, 2010. Accordingly, many guidelines and policies on the elderly have been brought into play, and the elderly's life has also improved.

However, currently, five per cent of the elderly, equal to more than 500,000 people, do not have health insurance cards, Minister Dung said.

Dung suggested the association propose Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issue a resolution and assign the People's Council of the provinces and cities to fully assess and use the local budget to support the purchase of health insurance cards for elderly people.

He also told relevant agencies to propose amendments to the laws relating to the elderly so that the legal system will be more effective.

As planned, the ministry will propose to amend the Law on the Elderly by 2024, especially focusing on reducing the age at which the elderly can enjoy social allowances, he said.

While the law has not been revised, it should submit the content to the amended Law on Social Insurance, he said.

As expected, the draft of the amended Law on Social Insurance will be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration at the second session of the 15^th National Assembly in October 2022.

Besides, the National Action Programme on Vietnamese Elderly (2021-2030) has to select a few key contents as highlights, he said.

Especially, it is necessary to seek ways to provide jobs for the elderly in accordance with their health, abilities and aspirations, he said.

For example, in Japan, there is a programme to support the elderly to start a business according to their health and ability. Driving taxis has been reserved for the elderly in Japan, he said.

Therefore, Viet Nam should study and recommend the Government to reserve a suitable occupation for the elderly, he said.

The labour minister also added that the elderly and issues relating to the elderly have always received special attention by the Party, State, the political system as well as the community.

Most of the elderly are respected and receive better care from their families and society, he said.

Their life expectancy has increased, so after retirement, the number of people who are still healthy and able to work has been increasing, he said.

According to Minister Dung, the legal system and policies on the elderly have been improving. The allowance for the elderly has increased from VND90,000 (US$3.9) to VND360,000 (US$15.8) per month.

Some beneficiaries receive more than VND1 million (US$44) per month. There are many models of giving care for the elderly that have operated very well in both public and non-public sectors, he said.

However, some shortcomings, such as the number of elderly people living alone increases as well as many cases of abusing the elderly have caused social outrage and need to be fixed, he said.

Also at the meeting, Nguyen Thanh Binh, president of the association, said that the elderly received more attention from the Party and the State.

Especially, during the pandemic, the labour ministry has advised the Government to promptly support those affected by COVID-19, including the elderly, to ensure social security.

To improve the elderly’s life quality, on December 21, 2021, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued Decision No 2156/QĐ-TTg approving the National Action Programme for the Elderly for 2021-30./.