China's Child Poverty Rate Highest, Says Expert

　May 15, 2013

Chinese children now have the highest poverty rate among all groups, said Deputy Director of the Social Development Department under the Development Research Center of the State Council Gong Sen at the Seminar on International Development Agenda and Children’s Development After 2015 in Beijing on May 13, 2013.

Chinese children now have the highest poverty rate among all groups. [caixin.com]

Gong added that despite the fact that China has made a lot of efforts and achievements in decreasing poverty over the past 30 years, social inequality in various aspects has been worsening in the country, with children being the most badly affected group.

Gong said that data shows that the possibility of sinking into poverty among boys is one fourth higher than for other groups, while the possibility among girls is about one third higher. Child poverty in rural areas is even worse than in urban areas.

Children's nutritional and living conditions are closely related to the local economy. Data shows that children in rural areas are more prone to being underweight and experiencing delayed development, anemia and other diseases. In 2010, the underweight rate among children in less developed rural areas was eight percent, about twice as much as the rural average level and six times as much as the urban average level.

Gong said that inequality in access to education is a more serious problem, which reflects the close relationship between children's quality of education and their family financial conditions and network. The household registration system further aggravates inequality, for example in the case of migrant children.

Inequality is also reflected in access to safe drinking water, clean toilets and medical services.

Gong said that the country's economic structures and social and economic policies, including market distortion, abuse of public resources or power and uneven quality of public services, all contribute to these inequalities.

Gong suggested that China promote equal opportunity in the following areas:

•eliminate price distortion, promote the effective utilization of capital and labor resources, decrease monopolization of public sectors and provide equal competition

•expand early childhood development and nutrition programs

•promote equal access to public services, including education and medical treatment

•enforce the regulation of equal pay for equal work and promote gender equality

•ensure that the most needy people benefit from the social safety net and implement the regulations of personal income taxes in the second-distribution field

(Source: caixin.com/Translated by womenofchina.cn)

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China's Child Poverty Rate Highest, Says Expert

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