China has issued the Outline for the Development of Chinese Women and Children. The outline, issued every ten years by the State Council, aims to boost children's physical and mental health, as well as to narrow the development gap between urban and rural women and children.

The outline, issued every ten years by the State Council, aims to boost children's physical and mental health, as well as to narrow the development gap between urban and rural women and children.

At the beginning of the Press Conference Vice-Chairperson of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council Song Xiuyan affirm the achievements of the previous two programs.

Song Xiuyan said, "The major goals set in the two programs have thus been basically achieved and remarkable progress made in the cause for women and children. The environment for women's and children's life and development in China has been further improved."

Based on the experiences in the implementation of the previous two rounds of the program, with the same outlines, new goals, strategies and measures have been mapped out in the two new programs. Regarding the program on the development of Chinese women, this program has identified seven areas for women's development, namely health, education, economy, political participation, social security, environment, and law, among them social security is a newly added area in the program.

Song Xiuyan also said, "Women and social security is a newly added area in the program, which targets women's full participation in maternity insurance, health care insurance, old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and insurance of injury at work. Considering beneficiaries of maternity insurance being women mainly, maternity insurance is listed as the first among the five insurances."

Moreover, the area of child and welfare was added to the program for children's development: to expand the coverage of child welfare, promote the shift of residual child welfare to moderate universal child welfare, increase the coverage rate and coverage level of child basic medical insurance, provide medical aid to orphans, children from poverty-stricken families and children suffering serious diseases, and basically meet the needs of migrant and left-behind children for basic public services.

Song Xiuyan said, "Working committees on children and women at all levels are responsible for the organization, coordination, guidance and supervision of the implementation of the programs, and relevant government departments and institutions and mass organizations shall all work together for the realization of the goals and targets."

Song also said that, the responsibilities of relevant departments in monitoring and evaluation, and specific requirements are also defined.

The next decade is a key period for China's all-round development. The implementation of the new National Program on the Development of Chinese Women and Children, presents not only a big opportunity for the country - it's also a major challenge.

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