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Country Office Annual Report 2020 China - 0860 Update on the context and situation of children In 2020, UNICEF delivered programmes across China aligned with the Country Programme Document (2016-2020), and informed by the principles of the UN Charter and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). UNICEF also continued to influence and build the capacity of Chinese institutions in South-South Cooperation, in line with international norms and standards. UNICEF and the Government of China completed the development of its new Country Programme (2021-2025). The priorities are based on an analysis of persistent disparities relevant to the UNICEF mandate: addressing the unrealized rights of all vulnerable groups, including children with disabilities, migrant families and children left-behind; addressing disparities in access to quality social services; reducing violence against women and children; ensuring the relevance of education for life and work; enhancing adolescent physical and mental health; and optimizing the potential of public and private sectors to influence the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in China and beyond. While the overall status of children in China has improved, there is a need to promote equity and rights, and reduce disparities between rural and urban areas, across regions, and among vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, affected by migration, those with disabilities, and ethnic and religious minorities. This is in line with the principles underpinning the SDGs – leaving no child behind. In response to changing economic conditions, environmental risks, and ongoing inequities emerging from rapid growth, the Government’s 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP) places greater emphasis on moving from “high-speed” to “high-quality” development. This includes meeting the ever-growing needs of its 271 million children (2015). China announced the achievement of its goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2020. However, poverty disproportionately affects children, with the poverty rate higher among rural children (2.2 per cent) than that of the total rural population (1.7 per cent) in 2018. To achieve SDG1, it is important to address multidimensional child poverty, with a child-sensitive social protection system, and affordable, specialized, and integrated essential social services. Internal migration has stimulated rapid economic growth in China, but it has also impacted access to basic public services for migrant children and children left-behind, affecting their development and welfare. An estimated 103 million children are affected by migration, of whom 69 million are children left behind by one or both migrating parents (2015). Gender inequities continue to persist, evidenced by a skewed sex ratio at birth (112 male to 100 female births in 2017), gender norms and practices that limit girls’ and women’s learning aspirations and occupational choices. Some labour practices and maternity policies also reinforce disproportionate care burden on women and further disadvantage them in the job market and at home. Notable progress in improving maternal and child health has been demonstrated by the decline in under-five mortality from 61 per 1,000 live births (1991) to 7.8 per 1,000 live births (2019). However, with almost half the deaths in the neonatal period, there is a need to improve service quality and decrease access barriers in comparatively poor areas of China’s western region and among migrant populations. Some children face the triple burden of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency and overweight, posing challenges for achieving SDG2. Child and adolescent overweight and obesity rates Page 1 of 8 Page 1 of 8 have grown rapidly, particularly among boys. Children’s health is also impacted by environmental factors, including indoor air pollution and inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene services. Some adolescents experience challenges in seeking health care, and services are not always tailored to meet their physical and mental health needs. China has achieved universal access to nine-year compulsory education and eliminated gender differences in enrolment of compulsory education. Further improvements in equitable and inclusive access and quality are still needed to achieve SDG4, including for children affected by migration. The gross enrolment ratio in three-year pre-primary education reached 83.4 per cent in 2019, with coverage of affordable kindergartens at 76.01 per cent. However, key challenges and disparities remain. In poverty-stricken areas of central and western China, the gross enrolment ratio in pre-primary education is below 75 per cent. There are limited resources in rural areas to ensure universal access and affordability of pre-primary education. The gross enrolment ratio in senior secondary education was 89.5 per cent in 2019, with persisting urban-rural and inter-provincial differences. A notable proportion of adolescents (4.8 per cent) failed to transition from junior to senior secondary education in 2018. Consequently, many are unable to acquire transferrable skills through formal education to prepare for the challenges of life and work, which is exacerbated by the limited availability of alternative learning pathways. The lack of nationally representative data on child protection significantly hinders monitoring SDG 16.2. A UNICEF-supported 2005 retrospective survey on childhood violence experiences among young people revealed that 55 per cent of respondents reported having experienced physical violence, 60 per cent reported having experienced psychological violence, and 26 per cent reported having experienced sexual violence before the age of 16. With rapid advancements in technology, 169 million children aged 6 to 17 years in China have access to the Internet (2018), making online safety for children and adolescents an emerging area for action. An estimated 85 million people are living with various types of disabilities (2010), of whom five million are children. There is a need to ensure children and families have access to specialized support services. Inclusive access to health insurance and mainstream schools, early identification and rehabilitation services, and advocacy to eliminate discrimination are necessary for children with disabilities to realize their rights equally. Prone to floods, typhoons, earthquakes and epidemics, China ranks high among countries suffering losses from natural disasters and public health emergencies. The psychosocial, social and economic shocks caused by natural disasters and epidemics can have profound impacts on children, as evidenced by COVID-19. In response to COVID-19, UNICEF scaled down development programme delivery, scaled up COVID-19 supply and emergency programming, and adopted a hybrid model of online and in-person support. Internally, UNICEF made a timely switch to the Work-from-Home (WfH) modality, and emphasized staff safety and wellbeing, which supported business continuity and productivity. Major contributions and drivers of results In 2020, UNICEF China undertook its most intense emergency response since the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008, and was among the first UN agencies to respond to the urgent need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). UNICEF’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was through the provision of critical supply and logistics at the onset of the pandemic, combating the primary COVID-19 impact on women and children’s health and health services, and addressing education and child protection concerns as well as social protection issues. Through collaborative efforts between UNICEF programme sections, cross-cutting teams and Page 2 of 8 Page 2 of 8 operations, PPE, medical equipment and communication materials were delivered to counterparts and target communities. During the implementation of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) activities, UNICEF worked closely with government partners to organize and present information, collect feedback, as well as monitor and assess the resulting changes at the community level. UNICEF worked with counterparts to translate messages in Yi and Tibetan minority languages to ensure ethnic minority children received COVID-19 prevention information. UNICEF also commissioned research on the impact of COVID-19 on children, with key research findings published in peer-reviewed journals. UNICEF’s key emergency response achievements in China include: over 90,000 health facilities’ staff and community health workers provided with PPE; approximately 134,000 people reached with critical WASH supplies and services; health workers’ capacity strengthened through UNICEF-supported online training modules related to the detection, referral and management of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases, as well as infection control and prevention (637,850 views); key messages on COVID-19 disseminated via social media through the Safe School Campaign jointly launched by UNICEF, Ministry of Education (MOE) and China Center of Disease Control and Prevention (130 million views); and 42 million children, parents, and caregivers provided with mental health and psychosocial support. To ensure inclusive messaging, videos with sign language interpreters were uploaded to the National Education Online Platform, and Braille posters were marked for delivery to 400 special education schools. UNICEF mobilized US$6 million from the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund (SSCAF) to support COVID-19 response and recovery in six African countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, South