China What We Do
With a population of 1.3 billion people spread across its 3,747,879 square miles of territory, China is a vast country brimming with potential. Rapid development and urbanization has brought about countless opportunities for China’s people. However, it has also introduced a whole host of challenges and threats to China’s youngest citizens.
Approximately two-thirds of China’s 367 million children live in rural areas. Many of these children – including ethnic minorities in China’s most far-flung regions – lack access to quality basic education and healthcare.
A marked increase in urban migrant populations has also resulted in rising inequality and a legion of “left-behind children.” As more and more parents move into China’s urban centres in search of economic opportunity, an increasing proportion of children are left behind in the countryside, in the care of relatives or family friends who lack the means and knowledge needed to take care of them. Children who join their parents in the cities do not fare much better. With the bulk of their parents’ energy going into making ends meet, these children must often fend for themselves.
As a result, vulnerable children are susceptible to a whole range of economic and social ills such as abuse, neglect, trafficking, and illnesses, etc.
This is yet another critical time in China’s development. Save the Children in China is committed to ensuring that all children, regardless of their background or ability, have the tools to become healthy, happy, and productive members of society.
We focus on:
- Protecting children from abuse, exploitation, neglect, and violence;
- Empowering children to speak up for their rights;
- Improving access to quality education for all of China’s children;
- Ensuring that all children have the opportunity to survive and thrive by improving healthcare; and
- Responding quickly to emergencies, and strengthening communities against future disasters.
In 2012, Save the Children – China accomplished the following:
- Provided protection to 22,389 children;
- Improved the education prospects for 173,533 children;
- Delivered health services to 36,240 children and their families; and
- Extended emergency aid to 110,519 children and their families.
For further information about our work, please see our Annual Report, or explore the links below:
