Child protection over the next five years should focus on HIV/AIDS,
cracking down on the trafficking of children and improvements
in basic hygiene and nutrition in rural areas.
This was the view
of delegates at a conference discussing the programme for
child protection in western China held Monday in Shanghai.
"I hope every
province and every county will view these as an important
part of protecting children, especially from HIV/AIDS, which
is spreading fast around the world," said Edwin Joseph
Judd.
Judd is the China
and Mongolia representative for the United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF), which has been cooperating with China over
the past five years in child protection.
Great attention
should also be paid to the survival, growth and development
of young children, according to Judd.
"We will meet
a lot of challenges from 2001 to 2005 during our further cooperation
with China," said Judd, "but we are confident about
protecting the rights of every child in China. This confidence
is based on the impressive achievements of the past."
In cooperation
with UNICEF, China has lowered the death rate of babies and
children under five years old, extended immunization to more
than 90 percent of children, improved drinking water and it
has made sure 99 percent of children attend school in 88 counties
in West China.
There are about
377 million children below 18 in China, which exceeds the
total population of some countries.
An investigation
launched by the State Council in the early 1990s to look at
the situation of children in West China showed there were
differences between them and those in more developed areas.
(China Daily 12/05/2000)
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