China provides free health insurance to 80,000 orphans

چین 80000 یتیموں کو مفت ہیلتھ انشورنس فراہم کرے گا

BEIJING, May 31 (APP): About 80,000 orphans were given free insurance contracts on Friday to cover the costs of treating 12 critical illnesses, as a joint insurance program supported by the government and a charity organization has expanded. The latest beneficiaries are from the cities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Qinghai and Henan provinces. An insurance fund that was raised through donations will be accessible for one year starting from June 1, or Children’s Day, according to Dr. Heidi Hu, managing director of the China Children Insurance Foundation (CCIF). “The insurance contracts are our best gift for them (the orphans),” she said.

Differing from previous years, in which funds was mainly raised by large enterprises, Hu said online micro-donations now account for a greater share of the fund and have helped to keep the project sustainable. 

The foundation launched the joint program in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) in 2009 to provide free insurance for the children of poor families and 712,000 orphans under the age of 18 who are registered with the MCA.

“We have distributed about 750,000 insurance contracts to children in more than 20 provincial regions, including the quake-hit province of Sichuan and the plateau areas of Qinghai and Tibet,” Hu said.