CRI听力:Health Condition Largely Improved for Chinese Rural Children

The overall condition for Chinese rural children has greatly improved in the past two decades, with a lowered mortality rate and less malnourished kids under the age of five.

However, as He Fei reports, experts warn that growth retardation and anemia are still major concerns for poor rural children.

According to statistics from the ministry of health, the mortality rate of children under the age of five has sharply dropped by 70 percent from that of three decades ago, and the figure of moderate undernourished children also decreased by 30 percent from five years ago.

Ma Xueqiang is the principal of a boarding primary school in southwestern China's Yunnan province. He is unaware of these specific figures, but he has noticed the improvement of student's health since he took the position 6 years ago.

"In recent years we have been striving to make physical checks on our students and the results show that their health conditions are improving. Now we can see less infectious diseases and the students are much taller than me when I was in their age."

Professor Chen Chunming is a member of the Partnership Council of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, an international NGO that specializes in tackling malnutrition.

She says with better living conditions, children in the rural area under the age of 5 are suffering much less from underweight and stunting, the two typical symptoms of undernutrition.

"The prevalence of stunting in rural children under 5 has dropped from 40 percent to 12 percent in the past 2 decades, and the prevalence of underweight declined by 58 percent from the number during 10 years ago. All these figures have achieved the target set in the Millennium Development Goal."

Besides a growing economy, government efforts to reduce poverty and improve nutrition are given credit to the achievement.

Ma Xueqiang from the rural school says, since 2004, when the government started distributing funds for boarding school students in most rural areas, students had become stronger in his school.
 
"Our students are obviously growing faster since living in school than staying at home. Also, the rural medical service system is well established, with almost every family having medical insurance, which helps them cover a larger part of medical cost."

Professor Chen Chunming from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition stresses however, with notable progress, stunting and anemia are still major concerns for child health in poor rural China.

"Currently, under the age of 5, one out of five rural children is stunted, which will have great impacts on their intellectuals and mental development and susceptibility to infections as well as their productivity in their adult life. Also, the rate of anemia for rural children under 2 has remained around 30 percent in recent years."

The professor notes that to better the condition, nutrition for rural children should be further improved, especially for those under the age of 2.

And an Action on the Elimination of Anemia aimed at the children aged 0-3 years old in the rural is currently underway. Jointly held by the All China Women's Federation, the Ministry of Health and China Children and Adolescents Fund, the Action is expected to benefit the rural children in China.

For CRI, this is He Fei.