Ageing population challenges Brunei's healthcare system: official

Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-20 23:30:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Brunei is moving towards an ageing society, which poses challenges for the sultanate's healthcare system, said Dr Hajah Norhayati, Head of the Health Promotion Centre at Brunei's Ministry of Health.

According to a report on local daily the Borneo Bulletin on Monday, figures from the UN Development Program said that the proportion of seniors in Brunei in relation to its overall population is expected to grow to more than 15 percent by 2030, and to more than 30 percent by 2050.

"We know the number of our seniors is increasing, we have evidence of this over the last few years. For us at the Ministry of Health, the concern is whether we are ready to face it, as elderly people tend to have a higher prevalence of suffering from chronic diseases in comparison to the general population," Norhayati said.

In 2016, the life expectancy for Brunei males was 80.5 years and 80.8 years for females.

"So we want the elderly who live longer to be as healthy as possible. Even though they might be living with a chronic disease, we want their condition to be under control, we want them to at the least maintain that state and not develop new diseases," she added.

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