Healthcare insufficient for elderly in Vietnam

 15-Jun-16, VietnamNet Bridge

Elderly Vietnamese people usually postpone regular health check-ups and medical treatment even though on average, they suffer from as many as seven diseases and conditions, said Director of National Hospital of Geriatrics, Pham Thang. Thang said the most common ailments among the elderly are respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure, anaemia and diabetes.

Image: VietnamNet Bridge

Thang said there are about 10 million senior citizens aged 60 and up, accounting for over 10 per cent of the country’s population. Their medications account for half of the country’s total outlay for medicines.

He added that healthcare facilities for aging people in Viet Nam are modest and fail to meet the demand, particularly as the number of senior citizens is expected to increase to about 21.2 million by 2035, compared with 10 million last year and 6.9 million in 2010.

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