According to Nguyen Tang Minh, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, HCM City officially entered the ageing phase in 2017, when the proportion of residents aged 60 and above exceeded the threshold that defines an ageing society under national criteria.

As of November 30, the city had around 1.6 million residents aged 60 and above, accounting for 11 per cent of its population- the highest number of elderly nationwide.

The pace of ageing has been faster than projected, placing growing pressure on the healthcare system and social welfare services.

Associate Professor Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Department of Health, said that demand of long-term care for the elderly is rising sharply, but the city currently has only 36 elderly care facilities, providing services to over 3,500 people.

He noted that the existing care system remains limited in both scale and diversity, unable to meet the market's demand.

Services are largely concentrated in residential nursing homes, while flexible models such as home-based care, day-care centres, assisted living, palliative care and e