Information from the 2017 Global Symposium on Ageing was shared among population and old people experts at a conference held in
The symposium, hosted by UNFPA in October in the
"Reports presented at the symposium have shown a global trend in population ageing, even in countries considered to have a young population," Dr Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, a UNFPA social protection analyst, said at the conference.
It requires extensive efforts from countries to adapt to the trend, even though they are in different stages of the ageing process, according to the expert.
This includes a comprehensive labour policy reform geared towards “active ageing,” which is the process of optimising opportunities for health, participation and security to enhance the quality of life as people age, according to the World Health Organisation.
It should include pension system reforms and elimination of labour market barriers and labour incentive policies for old citizens.
“Reports from different countries show that an ageing population does not create a labour shortage, since a large number of senior citizens want – and still have the ability – to continue working,” Quynh said.
“They also show that working senior citizens do not increase unemployment rate of young workers,” she said. “Studies in
There are some 10 million senior citizens in
"By classifying ’senior citizens’ as 60 years old and above,
"There is a shortage of statistics to demonstrate how different countries protect the rights of older people," Dr Nguyen Van Tien, former vice chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee on Social Affairs, said.
He noted that out of the 133 countries that a group of international experts from the United Nations and NGOs studied since 2011, only 22 countries – or 17 percent – had conducted surveys on the rights of older people.
The 2002 MIPAA, adopted at the Second World Assembly on Ageing in April 2002, does not have enough legal power to protect those rights.
The studies also found out that senior citizens are subject to various types of discrimination, including domestic violence, sexual violence and abandonment.
Tran Bich Thuy, director of HelpAge International in
“The group is founded on the grounds of sharing information, coordinating efforts and policy advocacy on population ageing,” she said. “Although voluntary and informal, the group will play the role of a consultant to the National Committee on Ageing (VNCA).”
A proposal of the group’s formation would be submitted to VNCA by the end of this year, she added. The group would start working next year, if approved by VNCA.
VNA