BANGKOK, May 16 – Thailand and Japan are cooperating in a project on long-term care service development for the elderly, the Thai Public Health Ministry has announced.
Public Health Minister Pradit Sintavanarong said the scheme, starting this year, will cover six pilot provinces and continue for five years.
Thailand is rapidly becoming an ageing society compared to other Asian countries while the government is planning to increase child birth rate from an average 1.5 persons to 2.1 persons per family to build a balanced population, he said.
According to the 2011 survey, Thailand’s nine million elderly people represented 12 per cent of the total population while those aged above 80 increased from 10 per cent in 2000 to 13 per cent in 2010.
Permanent secretary for public health Narong Sahametapat said six pilot provinces where the Thai-Japanese project on care service development for the elderly will be carried out are Khon Kaen, Chiang Rai, Surat Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Ratchasima and Bangkok.
Under the joint scheme, health service and the welfare system will be integrated and developed for the elderly to improve their quality of life with their families and communities.
Thailand aims to become a regional learning centre and role model among Southeast Asian countries on care service for the elderly, he said.
