Senior care plan launched between Shanghai and nearby provinces

Shanghai and Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces will establish a civil affairs cooperation framework with a highlight on senior care service development, officials announced on the Yangtze River Delta Civil Affairs Forum on Friday.

Civil affairs authorities in the Yangtze River Delta region will establish a joint senior care credibility system and information will be shared on blacklisted agencies and individuals under a cooperation memorandum signed on Friday.

Senior care service providers will face restrictions in the whole region under the system if they are blacklisted.

Authorities are also building a senior care association in the region, allowing the elderly to enjoy preferential treatment and service resources.

They will also share resources in senior care training and research to establish a unified assessment system of senior care workers.

The goal is to deepen cooperation in the region and promote the development of the senior care service industry, Zhu Qinhao, director of the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said.

The senior population in the region grew to 39.76 million in 2015 from 32.53 million in 2010, and it is estimated that rapid expansion will be seen after 2020, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences said during the forum.

Seniors aged 60 or over in the region are forecast to reach 46 million by 2020, and 75 million by 2035, posing big challenges, it said.

Shanghai together with Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces will also strengthen cooperation in other civil affairs fields like social welfare, community management and social organization.