THE country has over 180 million elderly citizens suffering from chronic diseases, of whom 75 percent have more than one, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).

The average life expectancy of Chinese people was 77 years in 2018, but the healthy life expectancy was 68.7 years, meaning people have more than eight years to live with diseases, said Wang Haidong, director of NHC’s Department of Ageing and Health.

The State Council has issued a guideline to implement the country’s Healthy China initiative, calling on promoting elderly people’s health, improving their living quality and realizing healthy aging.

It vowed to decline the incidence of disability among elderly people aged between 65 and 74 and slow the growth of dementia morbidity among those aged 65 and above.

All nursing institutions in China will be able to offer medical and health services by 2022, Wang said, adding that the NHC will also step up efforts to increase the health awareness of elderly citizens.

By the end of 2018, China had about 249 million elderly people aged 60 and above and 167 million at the age of 65 and above, accounting for 17.9 percent and 11.9 percent of the total population, respectively. (Xinhua)