A report on China's orphaned and abandoned children and the
problems they face, the first survey of its kind, was released by
the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Beijing Normal University and
Save the Children at China's Orphan Forum on September 29.
According to the survey, there were 573,000 minors who had been
orphaned or abandoned by their parents; more than 30 percent of
them did not benefit from social security and more than half needed
more support. Those in rural areas fared much worse than those in
cities.
While calling on NGOs for aid, the Ministry of Civil Affairs is
also seeking special funds from central government to provide more
support to them.
The survey said Henan
Province had more than 50,000 children living without parents,
more than any other province. The provinces of Hunan,
Anhui
and Jiangxi
each had more than 40,000. Those in these four provinces made up
nearly 30 percent of the nationwide figure.
Over 50 percent need more support
The survey found that 200,000 orphaned and abandoned children
did not have regular access to social services.
According to the report, rural children constituted 86.3 percent
of the total, far more than in the city.
Western provinces were also overrepresented compared to more
developed eastern provinces; above 0.13 percent of the population
in Tibet
and Qinghai,
but only 0.01 percent in Beijing and Shanghai.
Only 69,000 orphaned and abandoned children in the country lived
in social care.
About 53,000 received urban subsistence allowances, 125,000
enjoyed the "five guarantees" in the countryside, 116,000 of whom
received rural poverty support.
"In many places, social security funds only have symbolic
meaning. The largest amount of funds available is less than a
quarter of ordinary children's living costs. The amount in many
regions is even less than one tenth," Shang Xiaoyuan, a professor
from Beijing Normal University, said. "If these children are
included, those who need more support would number 300,000, 55
percent of total orphaned and abandoned children."
"This is the first time for us to penetrate into the orphaned
and abandoned group." Shang said, and local departments of civil
affairs only had incomplete statistics before.
"Watershed" in cities and countryside
"We have gone to many orphan homes. Surprising poverty is always
the first impression. This phenomenon is especially obvious in the
countryside," said Shang.
The level of urban subsistence allowances vary from region to
region. Each orphaned or abandoned child in Beijing, Tianjin and
Shanghai can annually receive 3,000-4,000 yuan on average, while
those in Henan, Gansu
and Ningxia
can only receive about 1,000 yuan.
About 25.17 percent of children living without parents in rural
areas were found to enjoy the "five guarantees." The annual subsidy
standard is 1,191.1 yuan for each child, but those in Guangxi,
Guizhou
and Hunan could only get under 600 yuan.
About 23.41 percent of rural orphaned and abandoned children
received rural poverty support, which in two provinces was less
than 200 yuan annually, in seven provinces 200-300 yuan and in ten
provinces 300-500 yuan.
The standard in Qinghai was the lowest, with each receiving 110
yuan each year.
New Year support
In practice, even if local authorities provide some
aid to orphaned and abandoned children, it is often money and
materials during the New Year and other holidays.
Rural-urban differences in support date back to
1993, when urban social assistance was reformed. Central government
tried to set up the guarantee system of subsistence allowances for
urban residents, and the system was established in 1999 in all
cities. This put the situation in cities ahead that in the
countryside.
"It is like a watershed. Differences in support for
orphans began to appear. Differences do not only lie between city
and countryside but also between different areas," one civil
affairs department official said.
Funds for the "five guarantees" system in the
countryside come mainly from villages and towns collectively, but
after reforms of agricultural taxation and fee-collecting, they
have begun to encounter financial difficulties.
Ding Sijin, vice director of Anhui Province's Civil
Affairs Office said there are no special funds from central
government for children living without parents.
Shang believed that since many of the children are
adopted by relatives; many are disqualified from the five
guarantees.
Hidden trouble of society
About 450,000 orphaned and abandoned children are
adopted by relatives, 78.5 percent of the total. Only a few live in
social care.
Shang said a lack of support would have a negative
impact on their education and medical treatment.
According to the survey, support to children who
are not adopted by relatives was more likely to protect them from
HIV infection and drug problems.
Innovation
On Children’s Day, the China Charity Federation and
other organizations signed the Declaration on Orphan
Support at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
At the beginning of September, 325 children in
Luoning County of Luoyang, Henan Province began to receive a
monthly allowance of up to 80 yuan from local government. They
could also get 400-500 yuan annually for clothing and blankets,
education and medical treatment.
A Luoning civil affairs department official said
the funding totaled about 400,000 yuan each year, and included no
central government money.
Chen Tiejun, the county's civil affairs department
vice director, admitted that it put much pressure on its finances:
"The support system will fail without follow up funds."
Wei Jie, president of Save the Children's China
Program, said, "We believe that China's orphaned and abandoned
children will have a better living environment with the active
promotion of civil affairs departments."
(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua October 24, 2005)