In the next 10 years, Thailand's elderly population is expected to grow to nearly 20 million. To address this, Varawut Silpa-archa, the minister of Social Development and Human Security, has emphasised the need to increase the number of elderly care facilities and to train more caregivers.
He said there is sufficient space across the country, but more support is needed to accommodate the elderly, including more caregivers.
Last year, the ministry launched a community based caregiver and elderly rights protection program. Caregivers, trained by the ministry, earn 10,000 baht per month but, currently, there are only a few hundred. The ministry plans to increase this number, to ensure that elderly people are cared for in communities and care centres.
Moreover, he said the ministry will request additional funding each year with which to create jobs and support communities, ensuring that elderly people are cared for by local community members, adding that it is the ministry's main responsibility to care for vulnerable groups, especially the elderly. The ministry must prepare facilities, personnel and technology, to keep up with the aging of the population.
Varawut and his team recently visited the Ban Bang Lamung Social Welfare Development Centre in Chonburi. He said the visit was out of recognition of the importance of Thailand's Eastern region. Nearly 900,000 elderly people currently live there, a number which is expected to exceed one million soon.
He said that, with the 2026 budget, the ministry will prioritise elderly care. With the aging population growing each year, they will aim at creating model centres providing comprehensive elderly care.
