Global Stringer
2019.09.17 10:58 GMT+8

The vital role of caregivers for an aging China

Updated 2019.11.05 13:36 GMT+8
CGTN

Watching 39-year-old Liu Yanmei feeding elders in a senior care center, one gets to see the immense difficulty of a caregiver's job. 

"Just one more bite… you are the best," said Liu, holding a bowl of milk in her left hand, and a drinking straw to feed the bedridden granny in the right hand. Seeing the granny push her head aside, Liu pushed the straw a little closer to the elderly's mouth, begging, "just a little more." 

This is the daily routines of a caregiver caring for elders in China. As China ages, caregivers have turned out to be an indispensable hand for the country's increasingly elderly population. 

According to a study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences published earlier this year, by 2030, one-quarter of China's population is expected to be aged 60 or older. By 2050, that figure will jump to 487 million, or 35 percent of the country's total population.  

Due to the one-child policy, the youth will find themselves ill-prepared for the aging crisis. The family structure in China now is a reverse pyramid where one couple supports two parents, and possibly four grandparents. Due to busy work schedule in big cities, sending aging parents to a senior care center, a choice that used to be frowned upon in Confucius Society, has become a more go-to option.

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