Hong Kong authorities have pledged to allocate HK$500 million (US$64.2 million) annually for recurrent expenditures to support carers, including establishing a high-risk family database and installing accident detection systems.
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Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu made this pledge on Wednesday while delivering his annual policy address, which included a range of measures to tackle the city’s rapidly ageing population and a rise in family tragedies.
“We do not have a concrete plan on how to spend the HK$500 million yet, but the direction is to enhance the capacity of current services and introduce new support services in the future, through integrating databases, identifying high-risk cases, and shoring them up,” a government source said.
“There are no [key performance indicators] for carer support measures because we will take a ‘service-driven’ approach.”
The proportion of Hong Kong’s elderly population is projected to reach 36 per cent by 2046, up from 20 per cent in 2021.
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The Hong Kong Council of Social Services earlier forecasted that the city had 1.3 million carers, accounting for about one-sixth of the population.