BEIJING: China plans to offer nutritious, affordable and accessible welfare meals for elderly people to support elderly care at home and improve the well-being of the grey-hair population, officials said.
“The number of elderly people such as the senility, disabled, empty-nest and left-behind has continued to increase, and meal assistance services have become the common needs for the elderly,” said Tang Chengpei, the vice-minister of the civil affairs, at a news conference on Wednesday in Beijing.
As of last year, China has more than 280 million people beyond the age of 60. Some have troubles or reluctant to cook for themselves three meals a day. How to assist them with nutritious and accessible food is the issue the government aims to tackle.
In China, some pilot programs have been carried out in many places such as canteen for elderly in the community, offering affordable and nutritious meals for elderly people at home.
An action plan to promote the development of meal service for elderly was released recently to expand the service nationwide in a convenient and sustainable way, Tang said.
The plan was jointly released by several departments including the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance.
According to the plan, the development of inclusiveness and diversity is advocated, with the principles of government coordination and basic guarantees, tailored and targeted regional measures, and proactive use of market mechanisms.
Efforts will be made to actively build a comprehensive and reasonable elderly meal service network that covers urban and rural areas, he said.
The main task is to offer elderly an accessible, affordable, safe, reliable, and sustainable meal service.
It aims to make the development of elderly meal services an important part of the people’s livelihood, guiding local government departments to closely integrate with their local conditions, actively and steadily promote implementation, and adopt targeted policy measures from the aspects of service supply, quality, sustainability, and supervision, according to the plan.
“The plan focuses on solving the practical difficulties of assisted meal services for the elderly, clarifies corresponding policies and measures, and strives to be tailored, operational, and effective,” Tang said.
It is encouraged to set up the meal service centers for elderly people in various facilities, such as in community center. Enterprises and government affiliated organizations are encouraged to participate in offering the service. Meal delivery services are also encouraged.
“It is not a free meal, but an affordable and accessible service,” Tang said, adding that regional governments are encouraged to offer subsidies in accordance with their financial situation. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
