UNICEF commends Government's strong leadership in building child welfare and protection system

Beijing, 31 May 2017 – At a special ceremony to launch the Child Welfare and Protection Week and to mark International Children's Day, UNICEF commends the Government of China's actions to extend the child welfare and protection system to more than 59,000 villages across the country.

The Child Welfare and Protection Week was first introduced in 2010 to advocate for greater investment in services for vulnerable children, with child protection most recently included as part of the scheme. The ceremony, jointly hosted by UNICEF and the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA), will be attended by Deputy Director General of the Department of Social Affairs under MCA Ms. Ni Chunxia, Deputy Director of the Office of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council Ms. Song Wenzhen, UNICEF Deputy Representative to China Dr. Douglas Noble, as well as a number of other government officials and experts from universities including Beijing Normal University. Four children from Sichuan Province and singer Timmy Xu will also help promote the activity. 

“UNICEF is committed to continue our work with partners to further develop and scale up quality child welfare and child protection for children in China, to truly make sure that every child in China – no matter who they are or where they come from – has access to protection and welfare services, so that they receive the support they need to survive, thrive and develop to their full potential,” said Dr. Douglas Noble, UNICEF Deputy Representative to China.

In the past year, policies rolled out at the national level have paved the way for institutionalized shifts in the country's child welfare and protection system, from one that was focused on a small number of vulnerable children to one that is universal and has greater reach.

Last June, the State Council issued its Opinion on Strengthening Protection for Vulnerable Children, which stipulates the creation of positions in every village to ensure child welfare and child rights. The approach is based on the Barefoot Social Worker programme, jointly supported by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and UNICEF, which has been leading the way as a community-based model to extend social services and protection to vulnerable children who live in the remotest and poorest parts of the country.

The Barefoot Social Worker Programme was initiated in 2010 in just 120 villages in five regions (Henan, Sichuan, Shanxi, Xinjiang and Yunnan). Today the approach is being replicated and implemented in more than 59,000 villages across the country. Through home visits carried out by villagers trained with basic social work skills, support is provided to children so that they can enrol in school, obtain a hukou, and receive vaccinations, health care and government subsidies as well as other assistance.

“The programme and its critical workforce of barefoot social workers have demonstrated that the most hard to reach children can be reached and how China can extend child welfare and protection in the last mile, with strong government support combined with technical support from top experts,” said Dr. Noble. “By providing and ensuring access to social support services and efficient referrals for children and their families, barefoot social workers contribute to decreasing and preventing disparities and vulnerabilities. They have proven to be an indispensable part of the child welfare and protection system China is building.”