After ten years of the Golden Age, the Vietnamese population is getting older and yet many of these elderly people are still facing the same poverty they have faced all their lives. 

 Health care is necessary for the elderly

The population and family planning work in Vietnam over the past 50 years have successfully limited the birth rates. In 1970, Vietnamese women had an average of 6.8 children, this figure was 3.1 in 1990 and it now stands at 2. The number of children per woman in several southern areas is even lower than 2.

Not only is the proportion of the population of working age is being reduced, the gender balance is also being threatened because families still have a strong preference for male children If the problem is not addressed, Vietnam will have 2-4 million single men by 2050.

There are some countries that were slow in changing their population planning and now have to face low birth rates. Most of South Korean and Taiwanese women now only have one child.

In a developing country like Vietnam an aging population will have to face even more challenges than under normal circumstances. Vietnam needs a sensible solution before it's too late.

Currently there are about 9 million elderly people (60+), representing 10% of the population, and it is forecast that this percentage will reach 20% between 2035 to 2038. Despite the increasing number, supporting policies for the elderly are still few and far between.

Nguyen Dinh Cu, former head of The Institute for Population and Social Studies at the National Economics University said, "We need to prepare better for our aging population by developing social support systems that are beneficial to the elderly community."

Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Tien, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Social Affairs said, "Our population scale is big so we need to try and avoid a population boom. Furthermore, the birth rates in mountainous and rural areas have always been high."

Nguyen Van Tan, Deputy General Director of the General Department of Population and Family Planning said, "We need to look at the bigger picture instead of just making calculations in a few provinces." 

He also advised against encouraging people to have more children.