China improves elderly care services to cope with rapidly aging population

China has expanded its elderly care services over recent years to cope with its rapidly aging population, with a particular emphasis on the development of at-home and community-based care.

As of the end of June this year, the country had built a total of 410,000 elderly care institutions and facilities, doubling the level in 2019, the data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed on Monday.

Of these, 369,000 were community-based elderly care institutions and facilities, marking a 120-percent increase over 2019.

The country has also stepped up efforts to cultivate elderly care talents. As of the end of 2023, colleges and universities nationwide had opened more than 770 majors related to nursing and elderly care service management.

From 2020 to 2022, the country trained a total of 2.48 million professional elderly care workers, 10,000 nursing home directors, and 100,000 full-time and part-time senior social workers.

"Going forward, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Office of the National Working Committee on Aging will promote the transformation of the work related to senior citizens towards people's whole-life-cycle preparation for elderly care. We will also coordinate and improve the social security, elderly care service and health support systems, optimize the elderly assistance and social welfare systems, deepen the reform and development of elderly care services, expand the scale and impact of the 'Silver Age Action', and guide senior citizens to actively participate in social activities," Liao Ming, deputy director of the elderly care service department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday.

The "Silver Age Action" is an initiative launched in 2003 with the goal of leveraging the expertise and knowledge of senior professionals across different domains to assist in the development of underdeveloped areas.

Official data showed that there were 297 million people aged 60 and above in the country at the end of 2023, accounting for 21.1 percent of the total population. The number of people aged 65 and above reached 217 million, or 15.4 percent of the total.

China improves elderly care services to cope with rapidly aging population

The Palestinian death toll from the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 52,418, with over 118,000 others injured, since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out in early October 2023, said Gaza-based health authorities in a statement on Thursday.

In the past 24 hours, at least 18 Palestinians were killed, and 77 others were injured in the Israeli military operations in the enclave, according to the statement.

On Thursday, Israel launched an air strike on a building in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, claiming eight lives, while Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip also suffered strikes, with four killed.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced on Thursday that the group had launched an ambush on an Israeli military convoy in Rafah in southern Gaza, killing and injuring several Israeli soldiers. So far, the Israeli side has not responded to this.

Eyal Zamir, chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said Thursday that Israel is dealing with a complex multi-front war, and the most prominent challenge at present is to bring the detainees back to Israel.

Zamir said the IDF will deliver a decisive strike against Hamas if necessary, but he did not elaborate further on this.

On the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that it is a very important goal to have the detainees released, but Israel's top goal is to defeat Hamas and it must be achieved.

The Israeli Army Radio reported that Netanyahu is expected to hold a special meeting with senior defense officials on Friday, and the Israeli forces will intensify their military operations in the Gaza Strip after the meeting.

Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 52,418