Shanghai Municipality on Thursday initiated an aid campaign to
help local elderly people celebrate the National Day, which falls
on October 1.
Nearly 100,000 senior citizens without financial support will be
given 460 yuan (US$57.5) allowance per month from September and
enjoy medical service partly free of charge.
The campaign will not only benefit the elderly people, but also
over 1million families members of them, according to local civil
affairs officials.
There are over 2.66 million senior citizens over 60 years old in
the city, accounting for 19.9 percent of the total population. More
than 50,000 of them live in the city's 500 welfare homes.
The municipal government and the public have paid special
attention to the senior citizens during major holidays such as the
Spring Festival, the May Day, the National Day and the Mid-Autumn
Festival, offering them dinners, presents and entertainment.
Experts of local hospitals often give advice on health care for
the elderly and dispense creams for hand care. Staffs from the
nursery schools in districts across Shanghai also provide timely
medical aid for senior residents when they are ill.
(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2006)
