UN Official Appreciates Cause of Women, Children Development in West ChinaChina has made great progress in improving the life of women and children in the western region, said Edwin Joseph Judd, area representative for China and Mongolia of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).Judd made this remark at a meeting Monday, December 4, which assembled delegates from 11 western provinces and autonomous regions. China has reduced the mortality rate of infant and children below 5 years old by 90 percent and more than 90 percent of Chinese children were immunized. "The progress is outstanding and admirable," Judd noted. The Chinese Government has invested 100 million yuan to cut the maternal mortality rate and the projects are first implemented in 88 poverty-stricken rural counties in the west region. The living status of Chinese women and children is the best in the history and the government will keep focusing on the life of women and children in rural and poverty-stricken areas, said Liu Hairong, an official with the All-China Women's Federation. Living Conditions for Women and Children ImprovedChina has nearly achieved all the targets set for improving the living conditions of women and children by the end of this century.The proportion of female university students grew by 2.9 percentage points over the past five years. At present, women account for 46.7 percent of the total number of employees in the country. More than 3.3 million of unemployed female workers have found new jobs in the last five years. The proportion of women among the poor population in rural areas decreased by ten percent over the past five years. More than 1.8 million women who live under the poverty line have received government relief. Over the past decade, the mortality rate of children has decreased by over 33 percent, and the occurrence of malnutrition of children has decreased by a half. |
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