China is rolling out a childcare subsidy system and enhancing supportive policies nationwide aimed to boost births and support families, the country's National Development and Reform Commission announced on Monday.
As part of the initiative, the government will establish a childcare subsidy system and create a special relending tool to boost key service consumption areas and enhance the development of the elderly care industry.
Meanwhile, localities are accelerating the implementation of supportive policies designed to boost births. So far, 10 provinces and regions in China have fully realized the direct payment of maternity allowances to individuals.
This change simplifies the previously complex process, where funds were first transferred to employers before being passed onto employees, significantly speeding up the time required to receive the allowance.
China's maternity allowance is calculated based on the average monthly wage of the employee's company from the previous year, with the higher the average wage, the higher the maternity pay offered.
In the latest move, China's National Medical Insurance Administration has streamlined the process for claiming maternity allowances, eliminating the need for additional documents such as birth permits, fertility service certificates, and marriage certificates.
In the future, more regions will be encouraged to directly pay maternity allowances to female employees, and pilot programs for those engaged in flexible employment to participate in maternity insurance will be launched.
In Zhuzhou City of central China's Hunan Province, the application process for maternity allowance has been streamlined since February. The application can now be submitted online in a one-stop manner immediately after childbirth, instead of waiting until the end of the maternity leave period. The processing time has also been halved from 20 down to 10 working days.
Wang Shuangshuang, a 36-year-old local resident who is now expecting her third child, said it previously could take around eight months to receive the allowance after giving birth, but now the application process is much faster and smoother.
"I can apply online myself after giving birth. I only need to fill out a form without having to run around. It's very convenient and thoughtful," she said.
In addition to financial support, China is also expanding inclusive childcare services to address the acute problems facing families. This year, 660,000 new inclusive childcare spots will be added nationwide, providing affordable and quality childcare services for residents.
Currently, over 1,300 counties and cities have introduced construction and operation subsidies for childcare institutions to lower service costs and make childcare more accessible for families with infants. For example, Shenyang City in northeast China's Liaoning Province is accelerating the layout of community-based inclusive childcare stations and applying residential prices for water, electricity, gas, and heating fees for childcare institutions, which used to cost much more in the past.
China introduces childcare subsidy system, expands supportive policies for families
Refugees in the Gaza Strip are anxiously awaiting more truckloads of aid, goods, and basic supplies after the Israeli government on Sunday permitted a limited number of deliveries into the territory, following two and a half months of border closure that blocked humanitarian assistance.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday a decision to lift the blockade on Gaza to allow the entry of limited aid, as international criticism mounts over the severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
In a statement, Netanyahu's office said Israel will allow the entry of a "basic" quantity of food for the Gaza population to prevent a hunger crisis.
However, only five of the nine aid trucks approved for entry on Monday were able to cross into the Gaza Strip, carrying items such as nutritional supplements for children and other basic necessities.
Aid organizations are awaiting the arrival of flour, which has been critically scarce throughout Gaza. An estimated 100 trucks are expected to enter in the coming hours, but this remains far below the urgent need.
The Palestinians want more aid to enter as the situation is aggravation and their conditions are getting worse and worse by time, with Israel continuing its airstrike bombardments across the Gaza Strip.
"Instead of five trucks, 500 are needed to provide sufficient food for the Gaza Strip. Most people's health has deteriorated, they can barely survive. We want essential supplies like flour, rice and cooking oil to enter, without being tied to political conditions," said Iyad Hamad, a Palestinian refugee.
"Not even 30 trucks are enough, especially since everyone has kids, as for me, I have 10 family members. If they're going to distribute one kilo for each person it won't be enough. For the past three months, our entire family has been surviving on just one kilo of pasta per day, and if we're lucky, we can get somehow a bit of rice once a week. We've become beggars, almost picking up whatever we can find on the ground just to eat. The situation is truly tragic," said Moein Abu Harbid, another Palestinian refugee.
Another Palestinian refugee described the situation as catastrophic, saying food and essentials are so scarce that aid trucks have no meaningful impact on their desperate needs.
"None of us can find anything to eat. The five trucks that arrived won't even make a dent in the shortage, they might as well not come at all. Gaza needs at least 100,000 trucks to meet people's demand for just eating. We're living a catastrophe, there's no food, no water, no work, nothing to make us feel alive. We might as well count as dead," said Ahmed Fathi, a Palestinian refugee.
On Monday, 22 foreign ministers -- including those from France, Germany, Spain, Canada, and Australia -- issued a joint statement urging Israel to immediately allow the full resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza and to enable the United Nations and humanitarian organizations to operate independently and impartially.
The statement conveyed two clear messages to the Israeli government: first, a call for the complete restoration of aid access to the Gaza Strip; and second, a demand that the UN and humanitarian agencies be permitted to carry out their life-saving work with neutrality, in order to alleviate suffering and uphold human dignity.
UN agencies have reported worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza since the blockade was imposed on March 2. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported earlier in May that about 93 percent of Gaza's population was experiencing food insecurity, ranging from crisis to catastrophe levels.
Limited aid trucks allowed into Gaza fall short of urgent humanitarian needs
