Children First
Putting children first in national poverty alleviation efforts is the most effective way of breaking the cycle of poverty, helping children to reach their potential and driving national development and growth.
“Physical and mental health in childhood is of utmost importance,” said Zuo Changsheng, Director of the International Poverty Reduction Center in China, at the child poverty session of the Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum on October 9.
“If one lives in poverty during childhood, the experience will have a great influence on one’s future,” he added.
Jillian Popkins, chief of social policy and reform for children at UNICEF China, talked about the importance of left-behind children. “The most important change I would look for in the next 10 years is the numbers of children who are able to live with their parents and access services they need in the places where their parents can find jobs,” she said.
She also talked about early child care. “There are still some areas in China where parents have to pay fees for the first 1,000 days of life,” she said. As a result, some babies do not get the services they need.
Song Wenzhen, an official with the National Committee on Women and Children under the State Council, said children in their first 1,000 days of life are a key group in a child nutrition project.
“Malnutrition in early stages of life leads to higher risks of child mortality and morbidity,” she said, adding that 30 percent of child deaths are related to malnutrition, while deficiency of protein and energy knocks 10 to 15 points off IQ and deficiencies of iron and iodine cause a drop of five to eight points.
Each year the Chinese Government provides 2.3 billion yuan ($347 million) as nutrition subsidies to 1.6 million children that are below 5 years old and impoverished. According to the National Plan for Action for Children (2011-20), the under-5 anemia rate must be kept below 12 percent, the under-5 stunted growth rate to below 7 percent and the low weight rate to below 5 percent.