Tens of millions of Chinese families are
struggling to take care of their elderly
relatives, according to a recent report in
Health News, a newspaper affiliated with the
Ministry of Health (MOH).
"At least tens of millions of households are
having difficulties with elderly care," Wu
Yushao, vice director of the China National
Committee on Aging, was quoted as saying.
Wu made the remark at a symposium held by the
MOH to explore the possibility of establishing
a long-term elderly care system in China.
"While a long-term care system is a common
strategy to cope with an aging population,
such a system has yet to be put in place in
China," the paper commented.
In China, children traditionally take on the
responsibility of caring for their relatives
as they enter their twilight years. However,
this practice has become increasingly
difficult for many in recent years.
"Long-term care was not in question in the
past because families used to have more than
one child. However, with more and more
single-child households, it has become
impractical for families to take care of their
elderly members," Wu said.
China is expected to support 40 million
disabled or care-dependant elderly people by
2015, according to an official estimate cited
by Health News.
At of the end of 2010, the number of
partially- and fully-disabled elderly people
amounted to 33 million, or 19 percent of the
total aged population. The number of people
over the age of 80 swelled from 4 million in
2000 to 18.9 million in 2009, a 25-percent
increase.
In contrast, a sharp decrease in the total
number of households and the rise of "empty
nest" families have made it difficult to
provide adequate care for the expanding
elderly population.
Official statistics state that the average
household size shrank from 4.4 people in 1982
to 3.13 people in 2005. "Empty nest"
households, or those in which elderly
relatives are left to take care of themselves,
are estimated to account for more than 50
percent of the total number of households.