Khanh Hoa Bureau for Population & Family Planning in association with Khanh Hoa Representative Board of Khanh Hoa Association for the Elderly has implemented a model on community-based health care and counseling services for the aged...
Khanh Hoa Bureau for Population & Family Planning in association with Khanh Hoa Representative Board of Khanh Hoa Association for the Elderly has implemented a model on community-based health care and counseling services for the aged, helping them lead a happy and healthy life.
A model on community-based health care and counseling services for the aged was piloted in July 2012 and then has been widely expanded in Khanh Hoa. The Association for the Elderly has effectively developed several activities for the senior, contributing to promoting their roles in various fields, according to Le Xuan Hanh, Chief of the Representative Board of Khanh Hoa Association for the Elderly.
Every year, the Bureau for Population & Family Planning in partnership with Khanh Hoa Association for the Elderly opens training and counseling courses and knowledge contest on basic elder care and the roles and responsibilities of the elderly towards families, thus providing more information about the elderly for leaders of the government and organizations in Khanh Hoa Province.
 The Association for the Elderly and commune authorities pay a visit to Nguyen Thi Dep.
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82-year-old Nguyen Thi Dep, Dong Dinh Village, Dien Toan Commune, Dien Khanh District is poor and lonely. Thanks to eye surgery aid by Khanh Hoa Association for the Elderly and Saigon Eye Hospital, she has restored her eyesight. Besides, she gets a pension VND300,000/ month. Her neighbors also help her with daily activities. Suffering from kidney failure, 86-year-old Nguyen Thi Quy, living in the same village with Nguyen Thi Dep, is offered housing support and a pension by the local authorities, the Association for the Elderly, social organizations and her neighbors.
In 2017, Khanh Hoa Department for Population & Family Planning continued providing counseling for Khanh Hoa Department of Health to submit a plan on the implementation of the elder care project 2017-2025 in adaptation to the population ageing. In Khanh Hoa, there are more than 112,000 senior citizens with 137 Associations for the Elderly at wards and communes; 992 association branches with 104,000 members. The elder health care has much improved thanks to the support of local authorities at all levels and the cooperation with local departments and agencies, including Khanh Hoa Bureau for Population & Family Planning. Annually, longevity congratulatory ceremonies are held for more than 16,000 old people; social pension are offered to 19,000 people, periodical medical examination to 33,400; medical insurance cards to 36,000, free eye examination and medication for 42,000, including eye surgery on over 3,000 patients.
The model on community-based health care and counseling services for the aged has proved effective, providing more access to health care knowledge and services for the needy. At present, although the life expectancy is on the increase, up to 73, the life quality of the elderly is not as satisfactory as expected. The number of vulnerable seniors is still high, 1,400 and entertainment activities for them are still limited.
With the current population aging trend, health care for the elderly has posed new challenges. Geriatrics needs to be founded to provide more access to medical service and home care services are also encouraged. Besides free public transportation for the elderly, retirement clubs should be expanded to make them more open to isolated and lonely old people, aaccording to Le Xuan Hanh, Chief of the Representative Board of Khanh Hoa Association for the Elderly.
Thiet Trang
Translated by N.T
