Poverty Reduction Briefing Compilation2011

No.1(31 March - 6 April, 2011)

　　I. In the last five decades, Africa’s urban population has grown rapidly. The growth rate of urban population has not matched the high demand for housing or the speed of its construction. According to the United Nations, Africa’s population has grown to 1 billion, 40% of which live in urban areas, and, 60% of those people live in slums and squatter settlements. Source: XINHUA NET 31-03-2011
　　II. The Shanxi Provincial Health Department (PHD) announced that the central government is due to provide a 26.44 million Yuan financial aid package in the year 2011 to support the construction of 50,000 harmless sanitary latrines in rural areas in addition to their environmental health monitoring. The PHD plans to spend 25 million Yuan from the allocated fund to support the construction of sanitary toilets in the povertystricken rural areas, covering 33 counties within eight cities. The remaining 1.44 million Yuan will be spent on monitoring 720 rural sanitation health hazards in 36 counties throughout Shanxi Province.
Source: China News 31-03-2011
　　III. From the year 2011 onward, the Guizhou provincial government will place a great emphasis on rural tourism as a means to alleviate poverty in minority areas. The Guizhou provincial government has identified three themes including red tourism, cultural tourism and eco-tourism. The development of tourism resources in these three areas will be promoted on the basis of their respective characteristics and for the benefit of poor minority farmers, ensuring their sustainable income growth. From past experience, the per capita net income of the Yaoshang Team, Foshan Village, for instance, increased to 6000 Yuan or so from 1200 Yuan in 2004.
Source: Netease News 31-03-2011
　　IV. “Hope Project Office of Shaanxi Province” recently launched a new pilot project named "Hope Kitchen" in two village primary schools in Hu County. The project plans to invest 30,000 Yuan in each school for providing the two schools with a whole set of new common kitchen utensils, refrigerators, disinfection cabinets, nutritional and dietary knowledge and as well as operating instructions. “Hope Project Office” plans to replicate the "Hope
Kitchen" project in many more “Hope Primary Schools” throughout the province.
Source: Chinese Business Daily 02-04-2011
　　V. Over the past decade, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region always adhered to the principle of"promoting agriculture through industry, and accelerating rural development through urban development". In the past, it mainly relied on economic growth and special programs-based development policy. On this basis, it has now gradually formed a "Big Pro-poor" pattern consisting of integrating industrial, regional and social policies. The government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region estimates that,by the year 2015, the per capita net income of farmers in poor areas will reach 6,000 Yuan or so per year, and the average annual reduction of people living in abject poverty will be reduced by 15%.
Source: Phoenix Information 05-04-2011

　　VI. Shaanxi provincial government plans to relocate 2.79 million people, who suffer from geological disasters and the threat of poverty, within 10 years. This mass-relocation, when carried out, will be the largest relocation project in China. Zhao Zhengyong, the Governor of Shaanxi Province, re-assured people that this project aims at relocating people from disaster-hit areas into areas where they can live in a safer and more convenient environment. He pledged that the government will not carry out forced relocation against the will of the masses.
Source: Singapore United Morning Post 05-04-2011
　　VII. The General Office of the People's Government of Gansu Province recently announced that it will invest 60 million Yuan for the renovation of dilapidated buildings in which 6000 rural impoverished disabled people live. The floor area for each household will cover no more than 50 square meters, and the renovation work is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Each of the 6000 households concerned will obtain a subsidy of 10,000 Yuan, including 5,000 Yuan from the provincial government, a special lottery and public welfare subsidy of 1,000 Yuan from the central government; as well as 4,000 Yuan in the form of financial support from the city or county-level authorities.
Source: Gansu Daidly 06-04-2011
　　VIII. Anhui Province plans to invest 38.8 Yuan for the implementation of 33 livelihood projects, 800 million of which funded by the provincial government will be spent on the reinforcement of more than 6000 rural roads and dangerous bridges within 5 years. In 2010, Anhui provincial government invested 34.5 billion Yuan in total for the implementation of livelihood projects which benefited more than 60 million rural and urban people. Per capita benefit was more than 500 Yuan.
Source: China Financial and Economic News 06-04-2011
　　IX. In 2011, Shanxi provincial government carried out the renovation of dilapidated buildings for the benefit of 1,650 rural impoverished disabled people, mainly for unallocated households and those living in extremely dangerous houses.
Source: Shanxi Evening News 06-04-2011

No.2(14 - 20 April, 2011)

　　I. Shanxi Provincial government recently issued another new preferential agricultural policy– the "Industrial Development Project Fund Management Measures (Tentative) for Poor Households in Shanxi Province". The new scheme was jointly developed by the Provincial Poverty Alleviation Office and the Provincial Department of Finance. Shanxi Provincial government will reportedly provide production subsidies of 50 million Yuan this year to benefit 30,000 poor households which are ready to develop various leading industries.
Source: Shanxi Daily 15-04-2011
　　I I . Guizhou Pr o v i n c i a l government announced that it will provide a financial package worth 93 million Yuan in total this year to implement its "Rain Plan". The plan will consist of "job skills training", "work preparation training" and "skill training on agricultural industrialization", and will aim to help poor people find jobs. The number of trainees in Guizhou is reportedly expected to reach 123,000 this year; and 10 demonstration bases of skills training for agricultural industrialization will be established in 9 cities (in other words, autonomous prefectures or districts).
Source: Guizhou Evening News 15-04-2011
　　III. The Central Government and the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region announced that they will jointly earmark a financial aid package for poverty alleviation worth 928 million Yuan this year mainly to implement the “entire village advancement scheme” there, in other words, a whole scale village poverty alleviation and development in 373 poor villages; as well as a whole scale poverty reduction and development in mass-poverty areas in three southern districts of Xinjiang. By 2015, it is designed, the entire village advancement of 449 villages will be completed and the per capita income of the farmers and herdsmen will be expected to reach 6,000 Yuan a year.
Source: Xinjiang TV website 18-04-2011
　　IV. The first special bank card for poor senior high school students in China was recently launched in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province. State grants worth more than 9 million Yuan were provided for the first batch of more than 6,000 students in total. This card has all the basic functions of Great Wall debit card issued by Bank of China. The aided students may withdraw the money from any branch of Bank of China using the card. It is safer and more convenient.
Source: Xinhua Net, Heilongjiang 18-04-2011
　　V. The direction of capital flow of the EU foreign assistance projects recently became the focus of people's attention, following medias reports according to which the EU’s had invested 8.8 million pounds to build an immigration consultant center in Bamako, the capital of Mali, in West Africa. The centre, officially inaugurated in 2008, is said to provide an information point for would-be young African migrants as it offers them guidance on legal immigration and helps them with job training and the search for work in Europe. Over the past three years, however, the center has only found jobs for six people; leading relevant people from international organizations to point out that the EU should increase the transparency of its aid and spend the money really on the poor.
Source: Yahoo News 18-04-2011
　　VI. Changchun Municipal Government will establish a "One Yuan Fund", which aims to encourage the city's Communist Youth League members, Young Pioneers and the volunteers to donate one Yuan or more each year to support children of the poor migrant workers.
Source: East Asian Economic and Trade News 19-04-2011
　　VII. The government of Nanning, Guangxi will this year invest 85.84 million Yuan to implement the “student nutrition improvement program in compulsory education in poor counties” scheme, which is part of the “2011 practical deed projects”. From the spring semester, a "free lunch" system of 2.5 Yuan per person per meal has been implemented for all students at school during compulsory education in three poor counties, including Mashan, Long'an and Shanglin. All funds needed are provided by the local government of Nanning.
Source: Renmin Net 19-04-2011
　　VIII. The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation revealed that its “Loving Package Project” received 1.0952 million donations by the end of the year 2010 from various circles of society, amounting to 189.7 million Yuan. The Foundation further announced that its “Loving Package Project”, which was launched on 26th of April 2009, has already benefited more than 1.63 million primary school students and 6,549 households.
Source: China News 20-04-2011

No.3(21 - 27 April, 2011)

　　I .The Beijing-based China Women's Development Foundation recently launched a large-scale public benefit activity named "Poor Family Assistance Action – Birth. Family"; aimed at easing the torment of poor families affected by infertility in order to help them to live healthy and happy lives. The WHO’s recent data show that, among China's population of childbearing age, the incidence of infertility is increasing year by year. This causes many social problems leading to issues such as domestic violence, social discrimination and so on.
Source: XINHUA NET 21-04-2011
　　II. The Baoji City government, Shaanxi Province, recently issued new measures to support a full scale village industries development as part of its poor village investment program. It provided financial aid worth more than 100 million Yuan for poor villages involved in its "Entire Village Advancement" program; as well as for poor households engaged in traditional breeding; introducing the provision of a "one-card-pass" for the first time for their benefit. To enable the most effective use of these funds, Baoji City government will invest a further 1 million Yuan for the benefit of each poverty-stricken village involved in the "Entire Village Advancement" program.
Source: Baoji News 21-04-2011
　　III. Chinese State Council Information Office issued a White Paper on China’s foreign aid, pointing that, Asia and Africa, home to the largest poor population, have received about 80% of China's foreign aid. According to the White paper, by the end of 2009, China had aided 161 countries and more than 30 international and regional organizations, including 123 developing countries that receive aid from China regularly. Of them, 30 are in Asia, 51 in Africa, 18 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 12 in Oceania and 12 in Eastern Europe.
Source: XINHUA NET 21-04-2011
　　IV. E-commerce has brought new vigor and vitality into rural development in China. According to a report released by the Alibaba Group Research Center, The "Netrepreneur Development Research Report 2010" says that the clusters of rural network operators in Zhejiang, Hebei and Jiangsu have become part of the network operators in rapid development. Statistics show that the number of rural netizens in China exceeded 100 million by the end of 2009, with an annual increase of 36.25%.
Source: XINHUA NET 23-04-2011
　　V. The CPC Central Committee Political Bureau held a meeting on 26 April 2011, to study the current situation and the main tasks in poverty alleviation and development, and to discuss "China’s Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Outline (2011-2020)". CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao presided over the meeting. At this meeting, the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau reckoned that the achievements of poverty alleviation and development played an important role in China's economic development, political stability, national unity, frontier consolidation and social harmony, and made a significant contribution to poverty reduction across the world.
Source: XINHUA NET 26-04-2011

　　VI. Record increases in global food prices in the first two months of 2011 are again threatening to push millions of people in Asia's developing countries into extreme poverty. According to a report from the Asia Development Bank (ADB) titled “Global Food Price Inflation and Developing Asia”, domestic food inflation in many regional economies in Asia has averaged 10% in early 2011. The ADB study warned that a 10% rise in domestic food prices in developing Asia, home to 3.3 billion people, could push an additional 64 million people into extreme poverty based on the $1.25 a day poverty line.
Source: Asia Development Bank Net 26-04-2011
　　VII. The Yunnan provincial government recently held a provincial working conference on poverty alleviation and development and set the goals for poverty alleviation for this year including an annual increase of more than 10% per capita net income for rural farmers in pilot villages and towns, an increase of more than 350 kg per capita share of grains, the transfer and training of 500,000 laborers within povertystricken regions throughout the year, an induced immigration of 60,000 poor people to achieve poverty reduction, a provincial financial aid worth 180 million Yuan for poverty alleviation scheme, as well as the implementation of housing projects for the benefit of 180 million households.
Source: Yunnan Net 27-04-2011
　　VIII. According to a UN report unveiled on 27 April 2011, expenditure on education in sub- Saharan Africa has increased by 6% annually over the last 10 years. This is due to national governments and parents’ efforts and commitment which led to the achievement of a positive result. The report highlighted the rise of 48% in the number of children attending primary school, from 87million in 2000 to 129 million in 2008; adding that the enrolment in pre-primary, secondary and tertiary education rose by more than 60% during the same period.
Source: UN News Centre 27-04-2011

No.4(28 April - 4 May, 2011)

　　I. Recently, the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the CPC and the Provincial Government pledged solemnly and publicly that by the year 2015, they will reduce by half the proportion of the population living below the poverty line, and that by the year 2020, they will basically eliminate absolute poverty there and build a comprehensive well-off society concomitant with that of the whole country.
Source: Phoenix Information 28-04-2011
　　II. According to the "Comprehensive Report on the Poverty Alleviation and Development in Hubei during the '11th Five-year Plan' Period" released recently, approximately 2 million poor people living in rural areas of Hubei Province worked their way out of poverty and managed to shake it off; the drinking water problem for roughly 4.2 million rural people was solved, and over 95% of the rural people participated in the new rural cooperative medical care plan. The per capita net income of the farmers in the 29 key counties involved in poverty reduction and development plan in this province tripled, increasing to 3451 Yuan by the end of 2010, compared to 1776 Yuan only in 2005.
Source: China News 28-04-2011
　　III. The Finance Office of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Finance Office has revealed that 90 microfinance companies in Ningxia recently introduced four measures to help 107 impoverished villages contribute to the ecological migration of the region. Currently, Ningxia Qinghua Microfinance Company has notably issued housing mortgage loans worth 1.56 million Yuan to the benefit of 33 households in Hongguang Town, Helan County. The annual loan interest rate is 7%, almost the same as the national benchmark interest rate.
Source: Ningxia Daily 01-05-2011
　　IV. The Ningxia Autonomous Region government has so far identified a total number of approximately 560,000 people living below poverty line in the region’s southern mountain. The government reckons that through the convergence of "poverty alleviation and development" and "rural minimum living security system" schemes, it can make pro-poor policies effectively target poor population and avoid substitution of generalized system of preferences for preferential policy and substitution of regional policies for household policies, so as to improve the pertinence of poverty reduction and development schemes.
Source: Phoenix Information 01-05-2011
　　V. Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda recently issued a statement according to which the ADB expects an economic growth of 7.8% in Asian developing countries this year and a growth of 7.7% in 2012. Although this growth rate is slightly lower than last year’s (or 9% growth rate), it is still respectable and gratifying under the context of so many challenges related to the recovery of global economy.
Source: China Network 03-05-2011
　　VI. The Qinghai provincial government revealed that it provided the largest amount of financial aid for poverty reduction during the era of "Eleventh Five-Year Plan". As a result, impoverished areas witnessed the rapidest growth and the most significant infrastructure improvement, and the poor population witnessed the sharpest income increase in decades. According to the provincial government, by the end of the "12th Five-Year Plan" period, the per capita net income growth rate in Qinghai is expected to be higher than the national average level, nearly 200,000 poor people are expected to be relocated, and there will be an annual decrease of 180,000 people living below poverty line. In addition, more than 900,000 poor people will shake off poverty.
Source: Qinghai Daily 03-05-2011
　　VII. A total of 530 young people from the central state department will visit more than 100 villages in China, from 7 May 2011 onward, in order to carry out the now very important "Hundred Village Survey". This year's "Hundred Village Survey", themed "Rooted at the Grassroots, Care for People's Livelihood", aims at making young civil servants better understand the national conditions, the society and people's situations, increasing their understanding of the feelings of the grassroots civil servants and the masses, and enhancing their sense of responsibility and mission through practice in grassroots areas under arduous conditions.
Source: Sohu News 04-05-2011
　　VIII. The pioneering ceremonies of “Nutrition Improvement Program for the Students Involved in Compulsory Education in the Impoverished Counties”, has been launched by the Masan, Shanglin and Longan Counties respectively. The three Counties in Nanning of Guangxi held the respective ceremonies on 3 May 2011, during which they began to officially provide free nutrition lunches for students. This project will benefit 134,000 students. It has been listed among the practical things for the municipal government to do for people, and all the capital fund needed will be provided by the municipal government.
Source: Nanning Daily 04-05-2011
　　IX. The "African Competitiveness Report 2011", jointly issued on 4 May 2011 by the World Economic Forum, African Development Bank and the World Bank; pointed out that “remarkable achievements have been made in African economic development in recent years, but the African countries have a long way to go to maintain the sustainable economic growth”. The Report put forward a number of suggestions on how to consolidate and accelerate African development, especially pointing four targeted key areas to start from: Those areas include (1) diversifying products and marke t s ; (2) upgrading managerial skills and universal higher education; (3) supporting and expanding women’s entrepreneurship; and (4) exploring the economic potential of and reaping the full benefits of tourism.
Source: Agence France-Presse 04-05-2011

No.5(5 - 11 May, 2011)

　　I. The Vice Minister of Commerce, Fu Ziying, headed the PRC’s official delegation to the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), held in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey from the 9th to the 13th of May 2011. China participated in the whole preparatory process of the conference and donated US$ 300,000 to its Trust Fund to support and facilitate the participation of the representatives from the least developed countries.
Source:CRI Online 05-05-2011
　　II.The Hebei Charity Foundation, China's first public welfare foundation registered through donation of stock, was officially launched in the capital city Beijing on 5 May 2011. On this occasion, Cao Dewang, Chairman of the Board of Fuyao Group, donated 300 million Fuyao shares to the Foundation, worth 3.549 billion Yuan. The donation will mainly be used to support charities in the field of education, health care and poverty reduction in impoverished areas.
Source:Xinhua Net 05-05-2011
　　III. Kenya’s permanent representative to the UN, Josephine Odhiambo, recently pointed that “simple donations” from developed countries are "being far from enough for and not suited" to the least developed countries; contrasting them with the development of South-South Cooperation, which, according to her, can make the exchanges of resources, technologies and knowledge between developing countries and the least developed countries continue to gain momentum.
Source:Phoenix Information 06-05-2011
　　IV. "Ten Thousand Heart Warming Actions for Poor Mothers and Households”, a new project sponsored by the Xinjiang Women's Federation was officially launched on 8 May 2011. The main actions, under the “Ten Actions” project, include “providing free trainings for a thousand poor mothers”,“providing public service jobs for a thousand poor mothers or households”, “providing free medical examination service for a thousand poor mothers’, “help a thousand poor mothers increase their income”, and so on.
Source:China National Radio 09-05-2011
　　V. A new report issued by more than 120 experts and scholars working for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provided a thorough analysis of the present situation and future prospect of six kinds of renewable energy sources including bio-energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean energy and wind energy. The report issued on 9 May 2011, pointed out that only 2.5% of the existing global potential of renewable energy technologies has been utilized; predicting that renewable energy sources will probably meet 80% of the global energy needs by the middle of this century if correct government support is provided.
Source:UNIC 09-05-2011
　　VI. The Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) opened in Istanbul, Turkey’s capital on 9 May 2011. The economic and social development of the LDCs remains extremely slow! Currently, the world's 48 least developed countries have a total population of 950 million, accounting for 12% of the total world population. The gross national income per capita in LDCs is lower than US$745, and half of the people live on less than $ 2 per day. The exports of the 48 countries account for 1% of the total exports in the world and the direct investment accounts for less than 2% of the total investment in the globe.
Source:World Wide Web 10-05-2011
　　VII. The post-disaster recovery and reconstruction following 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake has almost been completed, according to a statement recently issued by the Sichuan Provincial Government. The communiqué further stated that the government, from now onward, will shift the work focus to the development and revitalization of disaster-hit areas; adding that it will strive to invest more than 3 billion Yuan in the course of a period of 3 to 5 years to lift more than 1200 impoverished villages in the disaster-hit areas out of poverty. According to the Sichuan provincial government plan, the whole process will be divided into three stages: emergency relief, rehabilitation and development and revitalization. The process will focus on three first and main aspects: industrial development, employment promotion and poverty alleviation.
Source:China News 10-05-2011
　　VIII. International food prices are expected to rise by 10% this year, according to a recent report released by the World Bank. The report stated that, as a result, an additional 10 million poor people in the world will live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per person per day. The World Bank has accordingly launched an aid program aimed at "providing US$ 15 billion to support 40 low-income countries and thus helping 40 million people". The aid program includes the provision of new seeds, the construction of water conservation projects and other forms of agricultural and food aid.
Source:Website of Mofcom 10-05-2011
　　IX. A new "Development Program of the Cause of Disabled People in China under the 12th Five-year Plan Period" has been approved and adopted by the State Council, following its 11 May 2011 meeting and deliberation. The meeting stressed the need to strengthen the construction of social security systems for the benefit of disabled people, including all disabled people who meet the relevant conditions in urban and rural minimum living security systems, establish a care system for people with disabilities, provide jobs for 1 million disabled people and help 10 million rural poor people with disabilities to improve their living conditions.
Source:Sohu News 11-05-2011

No.6(12 - 18 May, 2011)

　　I. According to a new report compiled by a group of researchers from Stanford University and recently published by the US "National Academy of Sciences", China’s policy of returning farmland to forests in rural areas has made remarkable achievements, and the project has not only benefited farmers but also restored the eroded woodland to a large extent. Professor Gretchen Daley of the Stanford University, one of the participants in the research, said: “This is a great innovative project to address two critical problems- protecting the environment and providing an opportunity for the rural population living in extreme poverty to get rich."
Source: Sohu News 13-05-2011
　　II. A new report titled "Decoupling Natural Resource Use and Environmental Impacts from Economic Growth" recently made public by the United Nations Environment Program urged countries to decouple resource consumption and economic growth, warning that if the two cannot be "decoupled", then by the year 2050, the annual energy consumption of humans will be three times higher than the current consumption. Relevant statistical reports have already indicated that the average consumption in industrialized countries in 2000 was approximately twice higher than the global average, and 4 to 5 times higher than the current average in the poorest developing countries.
Source:Xinhua Net 13-05-2011
　　III. After including poverty alleviation for the disabled into its provincial poverty reduction program this year, Anhui Provincial government has so far managed to help 220,933 poor disabled people altogether and increased its financial investment in the program to 239 million Yuan. Poverty alleviation discount loans worth 126 million Yuan have been issued, and relief fund of 50 Yuan per person per month has been provided for 400,000 poor people living with severe disabilities in both rural and urban areas.
Source:Chinese Government Website 16-05-2011
　　IV. Alipay and China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation jointly launched “Sunflower Action”, a project aimed at drawing the public’s attention concerning children’s education in relatively backward areas. Under the “Sunflower Action” project, from 9 May to 15 June, whenever one user pays water, electricity and gas bills through Alipay, the latter will donate one kilowatt-hour of electricity (0.56 Yuan) to benefit students in poor rural areas in order to make it possible for them to have plenty of light to use during their reading and study time. Children from the impoverished counties in Yunnan, Guangxi and Henan will be the first batch of target of the donation.
Source :Xinhua Net 16-05-2011
　　V. After declaring 2011 the "People's Livelihood Building Year", the Xinjiang provincial government announced that it will invest more than 140 billion Yuan this year for the implementation of 80 livelihood projects in 22 categories, covering enriching housing, employment, health care, education, etc. The Xinjiang provincial government expenditure for the livelihood of the people in 2010 reached 119.8 billion Yuan in 2010.
Source:People's Network 18-05-2011

　　VI. The “2011 Love Package Action” was successfully launched in Nanjing of Jiangsu on 18 May 2011 during which 26 units in the province donated 2400 “Love Packages” at the launching ceremony, providing stationery and sports goods worth 240,000 Yuan for the pupils in old revolutionary base zones, impoverished regions as well as disaster-hit areas.
Source:Sohu News 18-05-2011
　　VII. India's 15th census report to date shows that the country now has 40 million more males than females. The gender imbalance has widened and deteriorated every decade since its independence in 1947. According to the 2011 census, there are 914 girls comparing to 1,000 boys under the age of six.
Source:Jiangnan Times 18-05-2011
　　VIII. After conducting a thorough survey, the Women and Child Development Foundation of Tianjin has established a “poor single mother” database that will facilitate its activities in helping to boost poor single mother families’ living standard in recent years, based on investigations into more than 1200 poor single mother families in the urban area of Tianjin. The survey shows that, in single-mother families, 44.4% of the main income come from doing odd jobs, 45.7% from government subsistence allowances, 7.5% from the living allowance for laid-off or people in early retirement and survivors pensions, and 5.5% from relief fund from parents, brothers, sisters, etc.
Source:Tianjin Network 18-05-2011
　　IX. The President of Banco Santander of Spain Botin in a recent statement said that Chile has good prospects for economic growth, which is attractive to investors. “If Chile continues to take the current development path, it will become the first developed country in Latin America and the first country lifting its people out of poverty”, said Botin who highly praised the work done by the Chilean authorities and the business community.
Source:Website of the Ministry of Commerce 18-05-2011

No.7(19 - 25 May, 2011)

　　I.The Shanxi Province has adopted a new poverty reduction strategy which consists of providing people with basic technologies in order to completely lift them out of poverty instead of giving them money, materials and walking sticks….etc. Under the new strategy, the focus will shift from single family poverty alleviation to an overall "Hemopoiesis" through which an entire village advancement will come into play, focusing on industrial poverty alleviation. Over the past 10 years, relevant statistics show that 1.91 million people have been lifted out of poverty in this province, and per capita net income of the farmers in 57 impoverished counties increased from 1271.6 Yuan in 2001 to 3125.4 Yuan in 2010.
Source: Shanxi Daily 22-05-2011
　　II. The Guangdong Provincial government and party officials and representatives from more than 40 state-owned and private enterprises operating in the Province, met in Shufu County, Kashgar of Xinjiang, on 23 May 2011 to launch 12 livelihood projects, 10 tourism, trade and logistics projects and 20 industrial enterprise projects, in association with local cadres and masses. In addition, supported by Guangzhou City Government, Shufu County will invest 824 million Yuan this year on renovation and construction of livelihood projects, rural infrastructure as well as household natural gas projects.
Source: China News 23-05-2011
　　III. According to the sixth national census data, the illiteracy rate in 2010 was 4.08% in China, and there were more than 50 million illiterate people mainly living in impoverished regions, remote mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas as well. Local economic and educational development remained relatively backward, the traffic inconvenient and information channels still not smooth enough in many places. This made it hard to conduct literacy education and caused its costs to increase.
Source: China News 25-05-2011
　　IV. The government of Shaanxi Province announced that it will spend 18 million Yuan this year to promote the construction of five livelihood projects for women and children in the province. Extremely poor women will benefit from aid projects through which each poor woman will receive a relief fund worth 3000 Yuan per year, and each poor “March 8th Red-banner pacesetter” will receive a relief fund worth 1000 Yuan once a year. In addition, 1000 demonstrative"Women's Home" projects will be established in this province this year and the government will support the construction of ten provincial demonstration bases for women's arts and crafts.
Source: Sohu News 25-05-2011
　　V. The Chinese and Peruvian governments have recently signed an "Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation" in the Peruvian capital Lima. Under this government-to-government agreement, China will provide Peru with a grant of approximately US$3,080,000 for the development of the peruvian education, cultural and health sectors in poor areas of Peru. Between 2006 and 2010, the total amount of China's grant to Peru reached US$18,470,000. The Peruvian government is said to be very grateful to the Chinese government for its selfless assistance.
Source: Xinhuanet 25-05-2011

　　VI. The Quanzhou government, Fujian Province has decided to offer a one-time relief fund worth 1000-5000 Yuan to Chinese returnees from overseas to help them get out of poverty, or when they get hit by serious diseases or disasters. Under this relief fund scheme, priority will be given to those covered by the minimum living standard security system or living almost below the poverty line, aiming at helping them tide over difficulties as soon as possible.
Source: China Daily 25-05-2011
　　VII. Felipe Custer, Chile’s Minister of Planning and Cooperation recently unveiled a new three dimensional development plan, aimed at, as he put it, “providing more Chilean people with the opportunity to change their fate”. The new plan will focus on the improvement of three areas including universal education, job creation and social security enhancement. Currently, there are more than 500,000 people living in extreme poverty in Chile and about 25% of the children come from extremely poor families. Chile is considered as one of the Latin American countries with the largest gap between rich and poor.
Source: Xinhuanet 25-05-2011
　　VIII. The World Bank has just announced the Regional Economic Outlook Report of Middle East and North Africa and adjusted the region's economic growth rate from about 5% estimated in Oct 2010 to 3.6%. The World Bank pointed out that past historical experience shows that political instability is bound to have a negative impact on local economic and social development in the region, where needs a renewal of investment confidence in its private and public sectors to ensure macroeconomic stability.
Source: Xinhuanet 25-05-2011
　　IX. The American government in association with two major NGOs, Pact and UNICEF, launched various aid projects worth US$100 million in Ethiopia, aimed at supporting helpless children affected or orphaned due to poverty and AIDS in that country, making it one of the aid projects with the largest amount of grant for AIDSaffected orphans in the history. It is estimated that this project will benefit 500,000 Ethiopian children in a span of five years.
Source: Development Area Net 25-05-2011

No.8(26 May - 1 June, 2011)

　　I. Under the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee’s unified guidance for “Care Projects”, a team of approximately 600 volunteer medical experts from Beijing and all nationalities throughout the country will be deployed to Tibet from July to Aug 2011 for delivering free medical and other services to the people of the region. The "Tibet Trip: Unite the Chinese Heart with Care", as it is called, is being organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet.
Source: Phoenix Net 26-05-2011
　　II. The Central Committee of Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party and China Health and Medical Development Foundation recently launched a new joint "Medical Care Project in Poor Mountain Areas of Bijie, Guizhou" in Guiyang. Under the new project, trainings for rural health care personnel to support the construction of rural medical service system and rural public health service system will be provided. At the launching ceremony, the Central Committee of Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party and China Health and Medical Development Foundation donated the first batch of 16 advanced mobile medical service vehicles worth nearly 3 million Yuan for use by township hospitals in Dafang County of Guizhou Province.
Source: Xinhuanet 27-05-2011
　　III. The Soong Ching Ling Children's Foundation of Canada, which has long been dedicated to promoting children causes in various aspects under the Canada-China cooperation, recently celebrated its 30th Anniversary. In the last 30 years, the Foundation focused its efforts on fund raising; and with many warm-hearted people’s support, it managed to raise 400,000 Canadian dollars (about 409,000 U.S. dollars). With this money, it is now able to provide financial support to 100 poor students with good morality and outstanding academic performance per year.
Source: Netease News 27-05-2011
　　IV. The Xinhua News Agency recently launched the "Poverty-Themed International Photography Contest". The contest, which was co-sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme, is designed to select relevant photos on eradication of poverty in the last decade across the world. The selection will be followed by the awards ceremony which will be held in Beijing on 17 October 2011- the "International Day for the Eradication of Poverty".
Source: People’s Network 27-05-2011
　　V. A new research conducted by Xibi Aita, a British expert at the London-based Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that 17% of the British people - more than 10 million Britons - live in "relative or standard poverty", especially minors and retirees. Xibi Aita’s research singled out unemployment, low education level and little savings from paid work as the three main reasons why some British people live in poverty.
Source: Xinhuanet 27-05-2011
　　VI. Brazil has made remarkable achievements in the field of economic development, and lifted more than 20 million people out of poverty, though many poor Brazilian people still need help in the areas of education, medical care and job opportunities. This assessment was issued in a statement made by World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick following his visit to Brazil from 31 May to 3 June and after holding talks with Government officials on the WB's strategic partnership with Brazil.
Source: Phoenix Net 28-05-2011
　　VII. A sharp disagreement between the Indian Government and local rights activists has surfaced concerning the definition of the concept of“poverty line”. According to the India's Planning Commission, the monthly cost of living for each person in urban areas of India today amounts to 578 rupees, which is 1/3 of the standard poverty line measured by the World Bank (1.25 US dollars per person per day); adding that in rural areas the monthly spending is even lower, amounting to only 450 rupees.
Source: United Morning Newspaper 29-05-2011
　　VIII. The Eighth National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) outlined the Association’s a new developmental goal with regard to civic scientific literacy during the "12th Five-Year Plan" period: to increase the proportion of Chinese citizens with the basic scientific literacy from the current 3.27% to 5% by 2015. CAST vowed to carry out actions to improve people’s scientific literacy, targeting farmers, community residents, minors and other key groups in the near future.
Source: China Economic Net 30-05-2011
　　IX. A new report, jointly co-authored and published by the FAO, the World Bank and the British Natural Resources Institute, and named "Lost Grain: Cases of Post-harvest Food Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa", estimates the total value of the annual grain output in Sub-Saharan Africa to be worth 27 billion U.S. dollars, but the total value of post-harvest food losses each year is as high as 4 billion U.S. dollars. The report concludes that if this part of the loss can be avoided, it can be used to meet the minimum food needs of 48 million people per year.
Source: United Nations Information Centre 31-05-2011

No.9(2 - 8 June, 2011)

　　I. Yunnan plans to invest 72.8 billion Yuan to implement eight key projects in the coming five years, aimed at improving ethnic minorities’ livelihood, accelerating the development of minority areas and making Yunnan “a demonstration zone for China's national unity, progress, prosperity and stability in border areas”. This is in accordance with "Yunnan's ‘12th Five-Year’ Plan to accelerate the Economic and Social Development of Ethnic Minorities in Minority Areas".
Source: Sohu News 03-06-2011
　　II. 52 villages in three counties having long suffered from the lack of resources and poor living conditions have been relocated since 2006 in Xining City, Qinghai. Xining City has hardened 65 kilometer-long roads, 106.41 kilometer-long newlylaid drinking water pipes in various areas, as well as 73.7 kilometer-long electrical rural power lines. So far 13134 people from 2893 households have been resettled and the investment amounted to 124.344 million Yuan.
Source: Xining Evening News 03-06-2011
　　III. Brazilian President Dilma Rosoff recently unveiled a new poverty eradication plan, promising to lift 16.5 million Brazilians out of absolute poverty during his 4-year term. Under the plan, a budget of 20 billion reais (about US $12.6 billion) a year will be allocated to finance three core poverty alleviation tasks: First, redistribution of income; second, the provision of proper public service facilities, such as electric power, drainage, schools and so on; Third, the basic production skills training.
Source: Phoenix Information 03-06-2011
　　IV. A charity event, the Eighth "Health Express - Kung Fu for Brightness 2011" was held at Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Hong Kong. A total of 11,000 poor patients suffering from cataracts in the Mainland China recovered their sight thanks to "Health Express" of Hong Kong Hospital Eye-Train Program by the end of 2010. This program jointly organized with Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association has been held for eight consecutive years.
Source: China Daily 04-06-2011
　　V. The Launching of “the 2011 Employment Subsidy Issuing Ceremony”, an Employment Assistance Project organized by the Liao Ning Provincial government for College Graduates from poor Families was held recently in Shenyang Architectural University. 24 representatives of all poor college graduates received job-seeking sample allowance worth 500 Yuan per person. The Liao Ning Provincial government pledged to continue to implement more employment assistance projects to ensure that 100% of the poor college graduates get jobs. So far, a financial aid package worth 30 million Yuan has been issued.
Source: Shenyang Evening News 04-06-2011
　　VI. Poor villages in Xin Jiang will benefit from a 50 billion Yuan investment, aimed at alleviating poverty and speeding up rural development in accordance to the Xin Jiang Provincial Government’s"12th Five-Year Plan". Under the plan, the Xin Jiang Provincial government will focus on building public welfare infrastructure for the benefit of 17 border counties and 100 targeted key poor villages, covering residential house building, material supply, health care, etc. Of the 50 billion Yuan, 10 billion will be invested by the Central Government and the Xin Jiang Provincial Government, 20 billion will come from the public, 10 billion will come from other social relief funds and 10 billion will be raised by farmers and herdsmen.
Source: Xinhuanet 06-06-2011
　　VII. The Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban- Rural Development recently revealed that the Central Government’s Project of Renovation of Dilapidated Buildings in Rural Areas in 2011 will cover all counties (municipalities, districts and banners) in Central and West China. It aims to support the renovation of 2.65 million rural poor households’ dilapidated houses, giving priority to the renovation of 200,000 poor households’ houses in border counties.
Source: China News 06-06-2011
　　VIII. The “All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese” recently launched the largest"Joint Action Plan for Health and Light" in Beijing to help poor cataract patients to recover their sight. According to the plan, All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese will organize a number of medical teams from June 8 to conduct rehabilitation surgeries for the benefit of more than 2000 cataract patients, and will build two or three ophthalmology training centers in Gansu accordingly.
Source: Xinhuanet 07-06-2011
　　IX. The director of UNDP Representative Office in Bangladesh Puri Sna said recently that the implementation of UNDP's few poverty alleviation projects in Bangladesh has directly benefited more than 10 million people. Since 2008, UNDP's annual project expenditure in Bangladesh has reached nearly US$100 million. Puri clarified that the urban poverty reduction program launched by UNDP in Bangladesh in 2008 is designed to be completed by 2015 and represents one of the largest poverty reduction projects carried out by UNDP in the world.
Source: Sohu News 07-06-2011

No.10(9 - 15 June, 2011)

　　I. According to the latest figures released by Ministry of Commerce of the PRC, China has signed contracts valued at $220 million with African countries, offering loans from a special fund to support 13 projects related to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. Besides the contracting funds, the China Development Bank (CDB), the undertaker for the special loans, has pledged to support 19 projects with commitment loans totaling $483 million. The special loans to African SMEs have created 1,500 jobs and facilitated foreign trade of more than $40 million in African countries.
Source: Xinhuanet 09-06-2011
　　I I . The 10th annual Af r ican Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum was held in Lusaka, capital of Zambia on 9 June 2011, under the theme "Enhanced Trade through Increased Competitiveness, Value Addition and Deeper Regional Integration". In the forum, sub-Saharan African countries called for the extension of AGOA, export diversification to the U.S. market, increased U.S. investment in the infrastructure sector. Taking effect in October 2000, the AGOA offers unilateral preferential trade terms to 48 Sub- Saharan African (SSA) countries, and allows duty free and quota free access to over 6000 product lines originating from 37 eligible Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.
Source: Xinhuanet 09-06-2011
　　III. The third “China-Africa Hope Project” was recently launched in three African countries –Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda respectively - in order to help school drop-out children to return to school. According to the Organizing Committee, the project was launched by more than 30 Chinese private entrepreneurs during their recent visit to Africa for charity purposes. The World Chinese Businessman Association and the China Youth Development Foundation initiated the “China-Africa Hope Project” in 2010 in a bid to bring the Chinese hope projects into Africa and build 1000 hope schools for African children.
Source: Xinhuanet 13-06-2011
　　IV. A Special Fund to aid poor patients was established in Beijing on 12 June 2011. Initiated by the China Health Promotion Foundation, it is the first special fund established for the benefit of poor patients. The first Special Fund Management Committee was elected on the same day, including its chairman, vice chairman and general secretary.
The special fund’s official launch was marked by a special one million Yuan donation from Wang Luyu, a leading private entrepreneur.
Source: Qianlong Network 13-06-2011
　　V. The United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced at the opening ceremony of the 10th annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum that the United States is committed to offer up to $30 million per year within four years towards boosting trade capacity in Africa through the African Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Initiative (ACTE), as well as a pledge of $2 million towards supporting the activities of the African Women Entrepreneurship Programme (AWEP).
Source: African Network 14-06-2011

　　VI. The Embassy of the People's Republic of China to Ethiopia, on behalf of the Chinese government, donated $1.5 million to the African Union (AU) headquartered in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. In handing over the cheques, Wei Hongtian, an Embassy official explained that the Chinese government attaches a great importance to its relationship with the AU and is committed within its capacity to take the relationship between China and AU to a new level. He said the money will be used to support the AU Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and also to enhance the African Union Commission’s capacity building.
Source: China News 14-06-2011
　　VII. People at the grass-root layer who have been neglected by traditional financial services are reportedly being helped by the P2P small-amount credit loan to lead fuller and richer lives. Taking the Yinongdai which is one such P2P smallamount credit loan for example, it is a thirdparty credit loan service platform, the loan mode of which charges no more than 1% service fee of the total loan, the lender is not bent on profit making, and the annualized
rate of return is less than 2%. As the marginal revenue is high, the farmers can pay back the loan without any pressure.
Source: Sina News 15-06-2011
　　VIII. The Jiangsu Provincial Government is determined to increase its efforts to basically eliminate poverty within three to five years. Since 2008, The Jiangsu Provincial Government has implemented several poverty alleviation projects to lift poor people out of poverty, especially, poor people in rural areas with a per capita annual net income of less than 2500 Yuan. It is estimated that, by the end of last year, 3.6238 million people were lifted out of poverty, and the poverty reduction rate reached 80.6%. It is also estimated that more poor in rural areas will get out of poverty by the end of this year; with the total poverty alleviation project geared to be fully accomplished within an estimated period of four years.
Source: Xinhua Daily 15-06-2011
　　IX. The Hibiscus Students public service campaign was launched on June 10 in Hunan by China Youth Development Foundation and Hunan CYL and Youth Federation. At the launching ceremony, Hunan Youth Development Foundation announced its plan to raise a fund worth of 12.8 million Yuan this year to support more than 2100 outstanding and poor students in China. The Hibiscus Students public service campaign has reportedly already received nearly 88.94 million Yuan in donations over the past 14 years, and has provided financial support to more than16, 000 college students in 27 provinces and municipal cities across China.
Source: People's Network 15-06-2011

No.11(16 - 22 June, 2011)

　　I. The Export-Import Bank of China and the Belarus Government ratified a loan agreement for US$1 billion. Under the agreement signed in Minsk, the Chinese Bank will finance the construction and reconstruction of large facilities in Belarus in order to facilitate industry development, traffic infrastructure improvement, job creation and export increase. The Belarus government warmly welcomed the loan which it considers as“very important to the country under the current complex economic situation”.
Source: China News 16-06-2011
　　I I . Zambia: China-Aid Agricultural Technologydemon stration Centre Commissioned.Zambian President Rupiah Banda commissioned the new China-Aid Agricultural Technology demonstration Centre at the University of Zambia Liempe Farm on 17 June 2011. The project reportedly cost US$6.0 million was constructed by Jilin Agricultural University of China. The centre will train agricultural technicians as well as ordinary farmers in various farming technologies using maize, soya beans, and wheat.
Source: Phoenix Information 17-06-2011
　　III. Kenya and China sign loan agreement for a referral hospital. The Kenyan Government and the Export-Import Bank of China recently signed a government concessional loan agreement to fund the construction of Kenyatta University’s Teaching, Research and Referral Hospital. This is the first Sino-Kenyan cooperation project in the field of medical care and health following the cooperation in road construction and telecommunications. The agreement aims to ease the shortage of medical personnel in Kenya, improve their medical services and ultimately enhance local people's living standards and promote the cooperation between China and Kenya in the field of medical care.
Source: Xinhuanet 17-06-2011
　　IV.Guangdong Provincial Government to provide free basic funeral services for the poor. The Guangdong Provincial Government’s Department of Civil Affairs announced that it will provide free basic funeral services for certain categories of poor people when they pass away. Deceased members of destitute "Five- Guarantee" households (water, electricity, transport, information and medical care), urban and rural households enjoying basic living allowances, families eligible for special government allowances and "Three-NO" category of people in urban areas (that is solitary senior citizens in urban areas who have NO ability to work, NO source of income, and NO legal supporters to provide for their lives), will be accorded this free basic funeral services after death. Taking into account China’s normal mortality rate of 0.6% deaths each year, a total of about 17,000 poor people will enjoy this service after death; Based on a subsidy of 1800 Yuan per person, the government will provide 30 million Yuan per year for this program.
Source: Yangcheng Evening News 18-06-2011
　　V. The poverty alleviation status quo in China–An assessment delivered by the Sichuan Legal News. Over the past two decades, given China's fast economic development and a stronger inbuilt national financial capacity, the government attached a special importance to poverty reduction,steadily increasing its investments in numerous
special poverty alleviation related projects. During the implementation of Seven-Year Priority Poverty Alleviation Program alone (1994-2000), the Central government invested 112.7 billion Yuan in poverty alleviation programs; that is three times higher than the total investment for the period from 1986 to August 1993. In the course of decades of dedicated efforts, it has greatly managed to reduce the number of people living in abject poverty. However, in recent years, poverty reduction has increasingly become difficult to achieve in China, and we have to turn to the legislation to help us resolve our relevant problems. This is mainly due to the following causes or reasons. First, harsh natural conditions and a poor social security system; Second, no fundamental changes have taken place to the basic livelihoods and therefore of living conditions of poor rural households in poverty-stricken poor rural areas; Third, China has the largest population in the world; and so the government is facing a heavy pressure to provide employment for the people, especially the young and the poor, and Fourth, the poor who have no adequate food and clothing usually live in the areas under harsh natural conditions and low level of social development and social services, with great contrast between input and output efficiency.
Source: Sichuan Legal News 21-06-2011
　　VI. Chinese NGOs get financial support from the World Bank. The World Bank 2011Chinese Civil Society Fund (CCSF) recently approved small grants as part of the fundingsupport to eight projects related to civic engagement proposed by Chinese social organizations (CSO), selected by a panel of experts in the Bank’s Beijing office from a total of 76 proposals received from all over the country. The projects are designed for vulnerable groups, mainly farmers, workers, rural children and women to improve their income and build their ability for participation in state affairs.
Source: People's Network 21-06-2011
　　VII. Tanzanian Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda cited poor leadership in Africa as a major factor behind a number of problems facing the continent in his opening address to the 2011 United Nations and Africa Public Service Forum, held in Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam, on 20 June 2011. According to the latest Human Development Report 2010, about 1.75 billion people in 104 countries live in poverty, of which about 458 million people live in Africa. Pinda said corruption was a serious problem in the world, especially in African countries. He stressed the importance of highquality leadership in particular and said that a reform-oriented leadership and an innovative and efficient public administration are important prerequisites to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Source: Sohu News 21-06-2011

No.12(23 - 29 June, 2011)

　　I. ADB increases investment in Clean Energy Industry As part of ts new policy of increasing investment in clean energy, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced it will provide a $60 million loan as a start-up capital to state-owned or private enterprises that intend to invest in new energy projects in Asia. It has already earmarked a total investment of $400 million for the new projects. ADB’s investment in clean energy has grown year-on-year, reaching about $1.8 billion in 2010. It is targeting an increase of $2 billion by 2013. ADB hopes many countries, especially countries with large desert areas such as China, India, Pakistan and Thailand, will participate in the development or promote the use of solar energy.
Source: Xinhuanet 23-06-2011
　　II. German Foundation to strengthen its cooperation with Gansu Province in the sector of Women’s development Visiting Gansu Province recently, Germany’s Ursula Manle, Vice President of Hanns Seidel Foundation, pledged that her foundation will continue to assist and strengthen its cooperation with Gansu Province in the field of women's development. In 2000, poor women in impoverished areas of Western China benefited from Hanns Seidel Foundation’s young women training and development projects including practical skills trainings for young women in Gansu, Shaanxi etc., and opened 13 colleges in Gansu as its base schools.
Source: Xinhuanet 25-06-2011
　　I I I . FAO celebrates global success in rinderpest eradication The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has claimed success in the global eradication of rinderpest. It accordingly organized a big celebration in Rome recently. The cattle plague, which is an infectious viral disease of cattle, has been threatening human livelihoods and food security for a long time. Launching the celebration, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said:“Mankind has got the necessary means to eliminate hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty, and the complete eradication of rinderpest is ‘the best proof ’of it.”
Source: Phoenix Information 25-06-2011
　　IV. New social welfare system for poor elderly to be launched by the Guangdong Provincial Government.Based on the principle of guaranteeing the basic social security for the poor with emphasis on those who are very old, Guangdong Provincial Government announced it will launch a new rural social welfare or social security system for the elderly in the second half of this year, winding it up by the end of 2012. The new scheme will benefit more than 236,500 poverty-stricken elderly people who are already over 60 years old. It will mainly target those living in the Province’s 3409 impoverished villages.
Source: Xinhuanet 28-06-2011
　　V. The Hong Kong SAR Government to divert charity allocated fund to support floodaffected victims .Hong Kong SAR government announced recently that it will take HK$ 7.408 million out of the Disaster Relief Fund in two tranches to support the flood-affected people in Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi. It is said that the two tranches of fund were respectively HK$ 3.408 million allocated to the Amity Foundation and HK$ 4 million to World Vision Hong Kong.
Source: International Online 28-06-2011
　　VI. Simultaneous economic growth and high incidence of poverty, big challenge for African country – UN official , Alberic Kacou, the UN Resident Coordinator in Tanzania, in a recent statement, reckoned that African countries’rapid economic growth is taking place side by side with high incidence of poverty, and this represents the big challenge African governments are facing,. Kacou said that although the average annual economic growth in Africa has exceeded 6% in the past decade, this growth occurred only in several fields that can provide limited employment opportunities instead of agriculture and other fields which are vital to the survival of a large number of rural people. Moreover, according to Kacou, poverty alleviation in Africa is also hindered by a number of other factors including a limited investment, a low level of technologies and a slow economic growth.
Source: Tencent News 28-06-2011
　　VII. China hands over four Chinese-funded and Chinese-built schools to the Mozambican Government; plans to build 7 polytechnics, A ceremony to mark the official hand over to the Mozambican Education Ministry by the Chinese Embassy of four Chinese-funded and Chinese-built secondary and technical schools, worth an estimated US$3 million, took place in Mozambique’s capital Maputo on 20 June 2011. At the moment, only three provinces in Mozambique have polytechnic institutes. China plans to fund construction of seven polytechnic institutes in Mozambique costing an estimated US$100 million.
Source: Trade News 29-06-2011
　　VIII. Myanmar to reduce number of people living in poverty by 16% within four year, Myanmar President Wu Dengsheng recently said that his country will reduce the number of people living in poverty by a total of 16% within four years. At present, 70% of the Burmese population are rural and most of them live in poverty. President Wu reckons, in order to reduce poverty, the government must launch people’s organizations in towns and villages, assign to these organizations the tasks to conduct some projects, and then change the organizations into cooperatives. To this end, Wu announced that in the period from 1 July 2011 to 31 December 2011, Burma (officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar) will gradually implement eight programs including environmental protection, development of small personal loans, rural economic development etc.
Source: Website of Ministry of Commerce 29-06-2011

No.13(30 June - 6 July, 2011)

　　I. China's Medical-Aid Team to Botswana recently celebrated its 30th Year Anniversary since i t s establishment in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital city. Due to an acute shortage of medical personnel in Botswana, China has sent 12 medical teams comprising 318 medical staff and support staff to Botswana over the past three decades to provide medical services in public hospitals in Gaborone and other cities. These teams have played a key role in the development of medical and health industry in the country, and have provided the Botswana people with various professional medical services.
Source: Phoenix Information 04-07-2011
　　II. Scores of villagers in Gansu lifted out of poverty into prosperity thanks to local government’s “villagers' mutual funds”. Relevant statistics from the Gansu Provincial Government’s Department of Poverty Alleviation have shown that since the Gansu Provincial Government established what it calls “villagers' mutual funds” in 526 poverty-stricken villages throughout 51 counties or districts, the 84.19 million Yuan Fund has already lifted nearly 40,000 poor households out of poverty and into prosperity. The first pilot projects were launched in 2006. Due to their positive impact in improving the lives of the hitherto poverty-stricken villagers, the village-level mutual funds for development have affectionately been dubbed "villagers' bank" by farmers in poor areas of Gansu.
Source: Xinhuanet 04-07-2011
　　III. Guangdong Provincial Government offers more tuition loans to college and university students as student loan default rates drop drastically. The Guangdong Provincial Government’s Ministry of Education announced that 400,000 students benefited from a 2.8 billion Yuan National Student Loan Program already implemented by 119 colleges and universities in the province (excluding universities directly under the National Government’s Ministry of Education and those in Shenzhen). The Provincial Ministry of Education said it welcomed the new drop in the student loan default rates, actually, from 23% in 2008 to 2.4% in 2011.
Source: New Express Daily 05-07-2011
　　IV. Hunger devastates fertile Africa. More than 200 million people in Africa are currently malnourished, 5 million people die of hunger every year and 39% of the people in sub-Saharan Africa still don't have enough to eat, a status-quo that has endured since 1970, new UN statistics show.
Source: Sohu News 05-07-2011
　　V. Russia haunted by poverty increase and drop in living standards. Russia is experiencing not only an increase in the number of poor people, but also a decline in the living standard of middleincome population, relevant experts said. Currently, 22.9 million citizens in Russia just enjoy an average income of 6,473 rubles, which is less than what is needed for the minimum living standard and accounting for 16.1% of the total population in the country.
Source: Northeast Network 05-07-2011
　　VI. Hong Kong Charitable foundation set to build bridges in Mainland China. Nearly 2,000 students from 11 colleges and universities throughout Hong Kong are pinning their hope on the warm-hearted citizens to raise money in order to support bridge building in more remote areas of Mainland China. The fund-raising to be kickstarted on 13 November 2011 will be organized by the "Wu Zhi Qiao (Bridge to China) Charitable Foundation" initiated by HK public to help people in remote poor rural areas of China build bridges.
Source: China News 06-07-2011
　　VII. Rising labor costs set to force China to transfer light industrial production jobs to Africa. Rising labor costs in China are set to benefit Africa, a World Bank report estimated recently. According to the report, in the coming three to five years, increasingly rising labor costs in China's light industrial production will force it to transfer hundreds of jobs to foreign market, most of them probably to African countries. The report said that although China's economic success and its needs for resources have promoted Africa's economic growth, but the increasingly rising wages in China will probably lead to the relocation overseas of manufacturing enterprises and the transfer of 83 to 85 million jobs.
Source: Xinhuanet 06-07-2011
　　VIII. Germany: Elderly to suffer acute poverty as purchasing power of pensions decline! The German Ministry of Labor recently acknowledged for the first time that the purchasing power of pensions in Germany has dramatically declined in recent years. As a result, the phenomenon of poverty suffered by the elderly will be more serious in the long run, and a growing number of elderly people will depend on social welfare system to survive. It is estimated that over the last decade, the overall purchasing power of pensions actually declined by 7%. From 2003 to the end of 2009, the elderly dependent on social welfare system to survive increased by 74%.
Source: Website of Ministry of Commerce 06-07-2011
　　IX. War and poverty affected school dropout children, a threat to UN Millennium Development Goals. Due to poverty and wars, a total of about 67 million school-age children in the world do not attend primary school and this poses a serious threat to the attainment of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, a UN report revealed recently. The report singled out economic crises and regional conflicts as the main causes of children dropout of school. Over the past decade, a total of 35 countries have been involved in armed conflict, resulting in 28 million children dropping out of school, accounting for about 42% of the total number of school children in the world, the report concluded.
Source: China News 06-07-2011

No.14(7 - 13 July, 2011)

　　I. Chinese ambassador to Mozambique formally hands over agricultural research centre. The ceremony marking the official hand over of new Chinese-built agriculture research centre to the Mozambican government took place in the country’s Maputo province in the middle of July 2011. The project cost over US$6 million funded by the Chinese government as part of cooperation between the two countries in the science and technology sector. It covers
an area of 52 hectares, includes administrative offices, laboratories and housing from researchers, technicians and trainees along with other facilities, as well as fields to carry out agricultural production tests, implement irrigation systems and space for livestock production. The centre was one of 14 such projects supported by China in Africa and was the first to be finished.
Source: Xinhuanet 08-07-2011
　　II. The Zimbabwean Government unveils Five-Year Poverty Reduction Plan. The Zimbabwean Government recently unveiled its new Five-Year Strategic Plan (2011-2015) targeting poverty alleviation. The newly drawn plan aims at further consolidating macroeconomic stability, ensuring the overall economic recovery to reduce poverty, and striving to achieve an average annual economic growth rate of 7.1% and annual employment growth rate of 6%. The total investment for this plan is estimated to be $9.2 billion and the main sources of funding include domestic savings, foreign direct investment, credit loans and public-private cooperative operations.
Source: Sohu News 08-07-2011
　　III. As impact of drought in Horn of Africa worsens, UNICEF scales up humanitarian response. A humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa fuelled by drought, soaring food prices and conflict in Somalia, has affected more than 2 million children who are now acutely malnourished as a result, including nearly 500,000 children in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya where they are suffering from imminent, life-threatening severe malnutrition, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) recently announced. The UNICEF reported that the drought and the rise in food prices have deepened the chronic poverty in the region to a point of extreme crisis, and malnutrition rates have reached emergency levels.
Source: Xinhuanet 09-07-2011
　　IV. Madagascar Highway No.118 Rehabilitation Project funded by the World Bank and executed by the Fourteenth Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering Bureau of China has passed expert examination and won approval, marking the completion of this road project which was launched in 2008. Madagascar Highway No.118 is 67 kilometers long with a contract value of $ 8 million. The project is part of the World Bank's poverty alleviation and environmental protection program. It is designed to provide farmers with convenience in transferring agriculture products in remote areas of Madagascar, increase the income of local farmers and prevent farmers from massively cutting down trees and destroying forests due to poverty.
Source: Xinhuanet 12-07-2011
　　V. Asian countries, with China in the leading position, make remarkable achievements in poverty reduction – UN Report. Asian countries have made remarkable achievements in poverty reduction, a United Nations Millennium Development Goals Report recently pointed out. It is estimated that China’s poverty rate will fall below 5% by 2015. In addition, India, another Asian country with a large population, will be regarded as the country to make the greatest contribution in global poverty alleviation, and its poverty rate is projected to drop to 22% in the next four to
five years. From 1990 to 2005, China and India managed to lift 455 million people out of extreme poverty, and the report estimated that as many as 320 million people in India and China are expected to come out of extreme poverty in the next four to five years.
Source: Legal Evening News 12-07-2011
　　VI. "Water Cellar for Mothers", a project designed to help poor families alleviate and solve the problem of drinking water shortage and to improve the quality of life of farmers and especially of women in poor rural areas, has invested more than 600 million Yuan to solve the problem of safe drinking water for more than 1.7 million people in China’s poor western arid regions. This is according to a statement recently released by Zhu Xisheng, Vice Secretary-general of China Women's Development Foundation.
Source: International Online 13-07-2011
　　VII. Industrial labor-intensive is crucial for the development of the African continent–UN Report. A new UN report titled "The Economic Development in Africa Report 2011- Fostering Industrial Development in Africa in the New Global Environment" recently pointed out that Africa needs new industrial policy to promote economic restructuring and poverty reduction, adding that industrial labor-intensive is crucial for the development of the African continent because it can accommodate a large number of employees. The report also recommended that African countries' industrial policies should be consistent with macroeconomic policies to achieve the development of manufacturing industry relying more on mobilizing domestic resources.
Source: Phoenix Information 12-07-2011
　　VIII. Japan relative poverty rate and child poverty rate hit record high in 2009 – Government Report. Japan's relative poverty in 2009 was at its worst since 1985, standing at 16.0%, 0.3 percentage point higher than in the previous survey for 2006, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare recently revealed in a report. The ministry also announced that the child poverty rate in 2009 for those aged 17 and under increased 1.5 point to 15.7%. The figures were calculated based on ministry data from a triennial survey on such factors as income and household composition.
Source:Jiji Press/ China News 13-07-2011

No.15(14 - 20 July, 2011)

　　I. Chinese government provides public transport assistance to the Mozambican government. A ceremony marking the official handover by the Chinese government of 72 Yutong buses as part of its transport assistance to the Mozambican government was held recently in Maputo. Mozambique Public Transport Company is in need of at least 300 buses to provide the transport service to Maputo City and Maputo Province but only a dozen of buses, which cannot meet the transport demands of passengers, can run properly now.
Source: Netease News 15-07-2011
　　II. Charitable Foundation meets health insurance costs for China’s many orphans and children from poor families. “China Children Insurance Foundation” affiliated to China Children and Teenagers’Fund recently announced that it has issued public insurance for major illnesses to the benefit of more than 300,000 orphans and children from poor families. The Foundation will strive to make the more than 700,000 registered orphans in China enjoy this insurance as soon as possible in order to ensure that they will not worry about the treatment funding when facing major diseases. As of the first half of this year, it has raised donations worth more than 21 million Yuan and issued public insurance for major illnesses for the benefit of about 400,000 children in 19 provinces (autonomous regions), including Beijing, Sichuan, Qinghai, Tibet, Henan, etc.
Source: People's Network 15-07-2011
　　III. WFP research uncovers food insecurity in rural China. The Agricultural Information Institute, part of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has already carried out last year’s United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)-entrusted research project known as“Analysis on Food Safety and Vulnerability of Poverty-Stricken Counties in China”. It selected six worst poverty-stricken counties and carried out a research on food safety and vulnerability there. This constituted the first food safety survey based on the income of rural households in China’s innermost rural areas. It has played an important role in helping the government identify the most vulnerable groups in food security. Through a questionnaire survey and focus interviews, researchers on the project conducted a research investigation over 1368 rural houses in 114 villages of six poverty-stricken counties in Shaanxi, Yunnan and Guizhou. The survey showed that 13% of the rural households in these six counties do not have food security.
Source: Science and Technology Network 16-07-2011
　　IV. India to spend the first $1billion World Bank credit loan to kick start its poverty alleviation program. The government of India recently signed a credit loan agreement for poverty reduction worth $ 1 billion with the World Bank to help India implement its national rural livelihood program. It is estimated that this program will cost $ 6.5 billion in total and will benefit 350 million Indian people. The program will reportedly be implemented in the 12 poorest states, and by this end, the government will spend a decade to lift 70 million families out of poverty.
Source: Xinhuanet 18-07-2011
　　V. WTO report shows 60% increase in global aid for trade from 2005 to 2009. A new report recently issued by the World Trade Organization stated that the global aid for trade totaled $ 40 billion in 2009, up 60% from 2005. The report titled “Report on 2011 Global Aid for Trade” shows that sub-Saharan Africa remains the largest beneficiary of aid for trade, absorbing $ 13 billion in 2009 alone, while the aids for Asia, Europe and Oceania decreased to varying degrees in the same year compared to previous years since 2005, by 18%, 34% and 28% respectively.
Source: Xinhuanet 19-07-2011
　　VI. A special mass wedding was held recently in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. 4541 “new couples” who did not get legally married due to poverty finally received a marriage certificate with the help of "Love Cottage" Foundation. It is reported that a large number of these "new couples" have been cohabitating but did not become legal couples as they could not afford the fee for a marriage license. Many couples attended the wedding accompanied by their children.
Source: Xinhuanet 20-07-2011
　　VII. “Potato Conference” highlights potato’s importance in ensuring food security. The“2011 Potato Conference in China” was recently held in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. UN officials reckon potato is now the most important non-cereal product, which brings great hope for safeguarding global food security. Addressing the conference, Wang Guoliang, Standing Deputy Director of the State Council Leading Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP) said: “Potato reflects the success of industry development in povertystricken areas of China. It not only helps serve as the basic food for the masses in poor areas, but also
promotes the increase in farmers’income and the improvement of the technological level of poverty alleviation industry.”
Source: Xinhuanet 20-07-2011

No.16(21 - 27 July, 2011)

　　I. Chinese and African charities join hands to combat poverty in rural South Africa. Charity Foundation, a charitable organization initiated by overseas Chinese in South Africa, recently donated 2000 pieces of garments and 20 sewing machines to poverty-stricken people in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, via MaNtuli Foundation. At the same time, these two foundations pledged to continue to work together by way of providing training to local poverty-stricken people on how to operate sewing machines so as to improve their working skills and create more work opportunities for them.
Source: Phoenix Net 22-07-2011
　　II. The Philippines: “Gap between rich and poor wide” – World Bank report. Richest people in Philippines account for 20% of the total population in the Philippines, and their expenses are eight times higher than those of the 20% of the poorest people there. The wealth gap in Philippines is reflected not only in terms of income disparities, but also in terms of land allotment, social welfare, human development index and so on. The 10% richest families in Philippines hold over 30% of the country’s total revenue.
Source: www.cnr.cn 23-07-2011
　　III. World Bank emergency relief fund to ease “worst drought in the history of Horn of Africa”. As the Horn of Africa battles “the worst drought in the history of the Horn of Africa” as some NGOs have called it, the World Bank has announced that it will provide $500 million US dollars to ease the drought and food crises and an emergency relief fund worth $12 million to the starving and drought-affected people there. World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the priority now is to send relief supplies to the affected areas as soon as possible, and the most important thing is to take immediate actions to reduce the sufferings of the people there.
Source: Xinhuanet 26-07-2011
　　IV. Northeastern Brazil: New government poverty reduction plan to lift 9.6 million most poverty-stricken population out of poverty. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has unveiled a new government poverty reduction plan, under which the country’s 9.6 million most povertystricken people living in the northeastern part of the country will be lifted out of poverty by 2014. (According to the poverty line stipulated by the government, a family with a monthly income of less than 70 Brazilian Real <287 Yuan > is a povertystricken family)
Source: Phoenix Net 27-07-2011
　　V. 500 Chinese youth from Hong Kong set off for Taiwan to aid Typhoon-affected people. A ceremony to mark the departure of 500 Chinese young people to Taiwan in order to take part in various poverty reduction activities for the benefit of the poor there has been held in Hong Kong. The trip has been dubbed “China Dragon - Journey to
Aid Taiwan”. It was initiated by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups and All-China Youth Federation. These young people will pay visit to Typhoon Morakot-stricken people in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Pingtung, further take part in the World Chinese Youth Forum, and also attend the 30-Hour Famine held by World Vision Taiwan.
Source: People’s Network 27-07-2011

　　VI. Guangdong Provincial Government submits new “Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Regulations” (draft) for deliberation. The Draft (hereinafter Draft Regulations) strives to include Guangdong’s poverty alleviation and development into the legal system. In June 2009, Guangdong formally implemented a new model of poverty alleviation scheme called “planning to households and responsibility to individuals”, which changed the traditional short-term poverty alleviation approach that focused only on providing funds and materials. With the introduction of the new “planning to households and responsibility to individuals” scheme, a long-term effective mechanism for helping the poor was found. All the good practices and experience introduced in the newly submitted Draft Regulations are incorporated into local legal laws and regulations.
Source: Phoenix Net 27-07-2011
　　VII. China: Chongqing is going to shift poverty line to be among the highest in the country next year. The poverty line of Chongqing is expected to exceed 2,000 Yuan next year, thanks to the reinforcement of the “Ten Thousand Yuan of Income Growth of ‘Two Wing’ Rural Households” project, which will place Chongqing’s poverty line among the highest in the country. Unlike other regions, Chongqing began to change its poverty line by introducing and implementing a relatively poverty alleviation standard last year: it implemented poverty alleviation and development for the rural poor based on the proportion of 30% of rural per capita net income in the city. Last year, the rural per capita net income of Chongqing exceeded 5200 Yuan and the poverty line was adjusted from 1400 Yuan to 1583 Yuan. On this basis, the rural per capita net income of the city will soon exceed 6000 Yuan and the poverty line will be greatly improved once again, reaching 2000 Yuan or more.
Source: People’s Network 27-07-2011

No.17(28 July - 3 August, 2011)

　　I. ADB loan to tackle imbalances between rich and poor youth’s unequal access to education in Mongolia. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing a $20 million equivalent loan to help Mongolia improve the quality of its higher education system and increase the primary and secondary school enrollment by youth from remote poverty-stricken areas.
Source: Asian Development Bank 29-07-2011
　　II. Rural tourism is “the biggest contributing factor to poverty alleviation inGuizhou”. The Guizhou Provincial Tourism Bureau recently revealed that a total number of 420,000 poor people have managed to shake off poverty through or after benefiting from rural tourism in Guizhou; adding that 60,000 business entities and more than 30,000 natural villages have been involved in the development of rural tourism, which is described as “the breaking point even the biggest contributing factor to poverty alleviation in Guizhou”. Currently, Guizhou has been identified as a long-term observation base by the World Tourism Organization for the development model of rural tourism. The World Bank has provided a $ 60 million loan to the Guizhou Provincial Tourism Bureau for the development of rural tourism in Guizhou, which has been taken as the global demonstration project. The World Tourism Organization has also provided a rural poverty alleviation fund worth $ 0.5 million specifically for the development of Guizhou’s minorities’unique handicrafts.
Source: Sohu News 30-07-2011
　　III. Beijing unveils a five-year-long Xinjiang Development Projects Plan worth 7.26 billion Yuan. Beijing will allocate 7.26 billion Yuan in the next five years to support the various development projects in Xinjiang. At present, the Central Government has arranged the provision of 5 million Yuan specifically for the implementation of a total of 12 scientific and technological projects and industrialization projects in Xinjiang, and is publicly inviting contractors to undertake the relevant projects.
Source: Xinhuanet 30-07-2011
　　IV. The world's population will hit seven billion by the end of October 2011. The world’s population will reach 7 billion by the end of October this year, according to a recent article published in the American magazine "Science". Over the past half century, the global population soared from 3 billion to nearly 7 billion. "Science" believes that, with appropriate policy interventions, substantial population growth will not bring about economic disaster. Reasonable changes in population age structure may also promote economic development.
Source: Tencent News 01-08-2011
　　V. African Development investment loan to boost oil sector development in Nigeria. To support Nigeria’s economic growth, the African Development Bank (AFDB) has announced a total of $ 155 million worth of investment loan to Nigeria, specifically earmarked for the development of the energy industry. The AFDB said the loan is designed to create more jobs in the African country’s oil sector.
Source: Africa's Future Net 02-08-2011

　　VI. China’s urban poor population reaches 50 million and fast rising. China has an urban poor population of about 50 million and this figure shows a rising trend, according to the “No.4 China Urban Development Report 2011” published by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on 3 August 2011. Currently, China's reasonable poverty line in urban areas is per capita annual income of 7500-8500 Yuan. That is to say, the average per capita annual income of these 50 million people is between 7500 and 8500 Yuan. In addition, according to the investigations conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and some local governments, the urban poverty rate is between 7.5% and 8.7%.
Source: Financial Network 03-08-2011
　　VII. The Shanxi Provincial Government investment in eight poverty alleviation related projects pays off. The Shanxi Provincial Government has invested a total of 7.406 billion Yuan for the implementation of eight antipoverty projects, reducing poor people to 2.76 million as a result. A total of 1.91 million people have reportedly shaken off poverty over the past decade. The eight projects included: entire village advancement, poverty alleviation by relocation, poverty alleviation through industrialization, labor transfer training, poverty alleviation through education, the development of contiguous areas, social poverty alleviation and the effective linkage of poverty alleviation and development and rural minimum living security system.
Source: Shanxi News 03-08-2011

No.18(4 - 16 August, 2011)

　　I. Full Post-Hospitalization Reimbursement Policy Benefits the Poor of China’s Sangzhi County, Hunan Province. A total of 340,000 people of Sangzhi County in Hunan Province, have since 2 August 2011, been enjoying the benefit of the full post-hospitalization reimbursement policy applied in any of the county’s 46 township hospitals. A total number of 342,000 people in the county have reportedly participated in the “new rural cooperative medical system”, accounting for 92.4% of the total population. A county-wide implementation of the “full reimbursement policy” will directly benefit all the insured farmers. Should they suffer minor illnesses or injuries that cost less than 150 Yuan, the insured peasants can undergo the outpatient therapy and get reimbursed 60% of therapy treatment.
Source: Sohu News 09-08-2011
　　II. New Management of Minimum Living Security System Leads to An Efficient Poverty Alleviation Work in the NingxiaHui Autonomous Region. In the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a new dynamic management of the rural minimum living security system has led to a much more efficient poverty alleviation and development work. The “differential” poverty alleviation policy combines the rural minimum living security system with poverty alleviation
and development work to achieve dynamic identification of poor people and provide effective support. So far, more than 500,000 poor people have been identified in the whole region.
Source: Phoenix Information 11-08-2011
　　III. China: State Council Unveils New Measures for Full Eradication of Poverty in Rural Pastoral Areas. The State Council unveiled a number of measures aimed at basically eliminating absolute poverty in rural pastoral areas by 2020. The State Council’s “Several Proposals on Promoting the Sound and Rapid Development of Rural Pastoral Areas” measures were promulgated on 9 August 2011. According to the new measures, China will establish the basic principle of combining organic production with ecological and environmental protection as a priority, and will adopt more effective policy measures to support the sound and rapid economic and social development in rural pastoral areas. By 2020, China will basically eliminate absolute poverty in rural pastoral areas, narrow the income gap between herdsmen and the farmers nationwide and basically achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects.
Source: Northern Daily News 11-08-2011
　　IV. ADB Grants a $ 300,000,000 Loan to Bengal to Solve Its Energy Shortage Problem. The Asian Development Bank recently offered a $ 300,000,000 loan to Bengal to solve its problem of energy shortage. Statistics show that only 44% of Bengali people have access to a stable supply of electricity. The loan will be used to enhance the construction of thermoelectric, natural gas and other energy resources stations to make up for Bengali’s huge energy gap.
Source: Asian Development Bank 11-08-2011
　　V. IPRCC to Give More Priority to African People’s Livelihood. The International Poverty Reduction Centre in China (IPRCC)’s Deputy Director-General He Xiaojun recently announced that in IPRCC’s future poverty alleviation and development cooperation with African countries, it will give more priority to African people’s livelihood to better meet their development needs. Although the Center has achieved positive results in its cooperation with African countries in the field of poverty reduction, food shortage and poor infrastructure are still major development challenges for many African countries. In the future, IPRCC will make more efforts to contribute to poverty reduction in Africa mainly through building agriculture demonstration centers and schools, and inviting agricultural experts and health care professionals to organize training courses and so on.
Source: International Online 12-08-2011
　　VI. Poverty-stricken Families to Benefit from Brazilian Government’s “Green Fund” as a Matter of Priority. The Brazilian Government announced that by September 2011, 14,737 poverty-stricken families will receive financial support as part of its “Green Fund” as a matter of priority. “Green Fund” is the No.535 temporary program approved by the Brazilian government on 2 June 2011. It is designed to give priority to the social groups living in extreme poverty and carry out the sustainable use of resources in rural areas to promote the protection of the ecological system as well as to ensure the income growth of the people in extreme poverty.
Source: China Economic Net 14-08-2011
　　VII. China’s Sichuan Province to Introduce a One-Off Temporary Price Subsidy to Low- Income Families. China’s Sichuan Province announced that it will grant a one-off temporary price subsidy to low-income groups in the province, taking advantage of the inflation rate having reached the starting conditions of price subsidies linkage mechanism. Key entitled groups, urban residents receiving the minimum living allowance, people with unemployment insurance and spring semester registered students in senior colleges or secondary schools from low-income families will each get a 100 Yuan as a one-off temporary pricesupport subsidy; and all those covered by the rural minimum living system and rural five-guarantee system will each get an 80 Yuan worth of subsidies.
Source: Xinhuanet 16-08-2011
　　VIII. July 2011 Food Price Index Reaches 33% Above Its 2010 Level - World Bank Food Price Index. The global food prices in July 2011 reached their highest level ever in the past three years and food storages were relatively at their lowest level, exerting a huge pressure on the world’s poor population, according to a recent statement issued by the World Bank. On average, the World Bank Food Price Index remains 33% above its level a year ago. Similarly, price levels of a number of major commodities are higher than their levels in July last year.
Source: Hexun News 16-08-2011

No.19(17 - 23 August, 2011)

　　I. China Ups Its Financial Support to WFP. Combined with earlier donations, China’s support for World Food Program (WFP) is now beyond 20 million U.S. dollars in 2011, the WFP said in a press release statement issued recently. “China has made its largest single donation to WFP with 16 million U.S. dollars towards famine relief operation in Somalia. In recent years, China has constantly strengthened its support for WFP’s fight against global hunger.
Source: Tencent News 21-08-2011
　　II. The ‘Rain Plan Training Program’ To Boost Wushi’s Farmers and Herdsmen’s Employability. Wushi County in Xinjiang will this year raise 700,000 Yuan to implement its now renown “Rain Plan” under which it aims to train 7525 farmers and herdsmen, in order to bring what it calls “sweet dew” for the benefit of farmers and herdsmen and consequently lift them out of poverty. The “Rain Plan”, a training program which enjoys the Chinese government’s financial support, targets to increase the labor skills of people aged 16-45 years old from poor families. Through skills acquisition training, the program is designed to boost their employment ability and entrepreneurship and accelerate the pace of poverty alleviation of poor farmers and herdsmen.
Source: Netease News 22-08-2011
　　III. New “Support Service Cooperative of the Poor”Is Proving To Be Road To Prosperity For Rural Farmers In Hebei Qinglong Man Autonomous County. Under its newly established“Support Service Cooperative of the Poor”, the Hebei Qinglong Man Autonomous County had issued small loans of nearly 5 million Yuan to poor
farmers to help 580 rural households develop fruit, cultivation, planting and other projects to increase their income, since the establishment of the service on 20 August last year. Qinglong has become a national key county for poverty alleviation and development policy experimentation. Last year, it was listed among the pilot counties for the implementation of Poverty Alleviation Microfinance Projects of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA).
Source: Xinhuanet 23-08-2011
　　IV. China ’s Urban Poor Sidel ined by NGOs and Government Supported Relief Organization – China Academy of Social Sciences Report. China has an urban poor population of 50 million, a new report entitle“China Urban Development Report No.4”recently published the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said. In his introduction, Song Yingchang, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’Institute for Urban and Environment Studies and Chief Writer of the report wrote that “currently, both Chinese government-backed rescue organizations and non-governmental organizations have been continuously launching relief projects for the benefit of rural areas in central and western regions, but have so far launched few relief projects for the benefit of the urban poor”, adding that, “all key poverty alleviation agencies have no urban poverty alleviation program”.
Source: Northern Daily News 23-08-2011
　　V. Germany: Retirees Take Part-Time Jobs To Ease Burden On Retirement Savings. In order to “make expenses correspond to the income”, in Germany, while receiving pensions, a growing number of retirees do some temporary extra work or apply for national basic insurance. It is reported that in 2001, about 660,000 65-74-year-old senior people in Germany had part-time jobs. This figure was 416,000 in 2000. To solve the problem of poverty in old age, the Ministry of Social Security plans to introduce the “government pension dialogue” this summer following calls for the introduction of a legislative bill that will make the pension system more reasonable and sustainable by
the early 2012 to avoid greater harm of poverty in old age.
Source: World Wide Web 23-08-2011
　　VI. Financial Crisis And Economic Recession Drive a Dramatic Increase In Unemployment And In The Number Of Poor People In The United States. The financial crisis and economic recession have led to rising unemployment and a significant increase in the number of poor people in the United States. Currently, nearly 46 million people rely on food stamps to survive, accounting for 15% of the total population, with an increase of 74% compared with 2007 before the financial crisis. As part of the government welfare, America’s food stamps are issued to local poor people, including some victims of the hardship, legal immigrants, foreign refugees, children and veterans. With the significant increase in the number of citizens receiving food stamps, the U.S. government’s spending reached $68 billion in 2010. That is equivalent to more than a third of the U.S. government’s corporate income taxes last year.
Source: China News 23-08-2011
　　VII. Norwegian Red Cross Funds Safe Drinking Water and Harmless to Ecology Sanitation Latrines Projects in Shanxi Province. The Norwegian Red Cross-supported‘Water and Lavatory Improvement’ Project as well as the ‘Health Education Project’ in rural areas of Shanxi Province have recently been launched. Up to date, a total of 1.45 million Yuan has been donated for the implementation of the project in Yanggou Village, Gu Village and Likan Village in Xiangyuan County. To be specific, this money will help 374 rural households in the three villages get
access to drinking water and harmless to ecology sanitation latrines without peculiar smell or exhaust gas, which will be built for them.
Source: Netease News 23-08-2011

No.20(24 - 30 August, 2011)

　　I. Donation Expenditure Incurred By 84 Central Enterprises on the Increase – SASAC. China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) recently issued a statement according to which from January to June 2011, the donation expenditure incurred by 84 central enterprises amounted to 1.2731254 billion Yuan including relief donations worth 362.1585 million Yuan, accounting for 28.45%; charitable donations amounted to 799.5498 million Yuan, accounting for 62.8%; and other donations worth 111.4171 million Yuan, accounting for 8.75%.
Source: Phoenix Information 24-8-2011
　　II. World Bank Backs Jordan’s Poverty Reduction with $250 million. The World Bank will provide loans of $ 250 million to Jordan in September to support Jordan's economic and social reform and promote its domestic poverty reduction. This interest rate is 1.25% and the repayment period is more than 20 years.
Source: Website of Ministry of Commerce 24-8-2011
　　III. The Chinese Embassy in Ghana, on behalf of the Chinese government, donated antimalarial drugs worth 3 million Yuan to the Government of Ghana. This donation follows the construction of a Chinese Government funded 100-bed general hospital, completed in September last year.
Source: Phoenix Information 25-8-2011
　　IV. The People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Announces New Subsidy Policy For Urban And Rural Low- Income Groups. In order to reduce the impact of rising prices on the livelihood of urban and rural low-income groups, the People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region recently announced the launch of a subsidy program that will benefit 2.4 million people in total including the poor and the staffs serving in the Non-profit sector. Under the new policy, the urban poor will be able to receive a 48 Yuan per person per month subsidy and rural poor will be able to receive a 32 Yuan per person per month subsidy.
Source: People's Daily Online 26-8-2011
　　V. Ningxia County Free Educations for Minors: A Success! Ningxia County of Shaanxi Province, which took the lead to achieve 12-year free education in its poor areas, has made another major decision this year that will benefit pre-school children: From the fall semester, the government will exempt all the 2040 pre-school children in state-run kindergartens and private kindergartens from the teaching and childcare fees for the three years in the whole county. The implementation of Ningshan County’s three-year free pre-school education has reportedly not only achieved the provincial government’s objective of free preschool education but also it assigned itself a new goal to achieve 15-year free education.
Source: People's Daily Online 27-8-2011
　　VI. World’s Famous Cooks Converge to South Africa on Anti-Hunger Tour Campaign to Raise Money for Poor Children. More than 200 chefs from 44 countries around the world arrived in South Africa on 21 August to participate in the 10- day anti-hunger cooking tour of the worlds’chefs held in Mandela’s country. One of the purposes of this tour is to raise 5 year-long support payments for 300 poor children in South Africa. According to a report on the impact of global economic crisis on children issued by UNICEF on 15 August, the incidence of poverty among children in South Africa is still as high as 65.5%.
Source: Phoenix Information 30-8-2011
　　VII. China still faces poverty reduction challenges despite growth. Liu Shuwen, Deputy Director of Department of International Cooperation and Social Poverty Alleviation and Local Government Operations Protocol (LGOP) recently said that China has made remarkable achievements in the field of poverty reduction, but still faces four major challenges, namely, heavy pressure from rebounding poverty, growing income gap between the rich and the poor, unbalanced regional development and serious natural disasters. However, Shuwen said that in the near future, China will consolidate its poverty reduction success by continuing to strengthen the infrastructure construction in poor areas, consolidate an adequate supply of food and clothing for the poor by 2020, attach importance on energy development and environmental protection, strengthen international exchanges and cooperation in poverty reduction, and protect their right to compulsory education, basic health care and housing.
Source: Netease News 30-8-2011
　　VIII. It’s Official: New Housing For 3,783 Low-Income and Poor Households Dongguan City of Guangdong Province By This Spring Festival! Dongguan City of Guangdong Province announced that it will soon complete the housing renovation for 3,783 low-income and poor households in Shaoguan and Yunfu, relocate 34 villages qualified as “two no-possession” and try to make it possible for them to move to the new houses before the Spring Festival. By the end of July 2011, the City provided an anti-poverty fund worth 214.91 million Yuan. Thanks to this Fund, 64.67% of poor households were lifted out of poverty. However, despite the remarkable achievement secured at previous stages, currently, there are still some problems related to poverty alleviation work to be solved, including insufficient investment for poverty alleviation and development, which remains the key problem.
Source: Dongguan Dail 30-8-2011

No.21(31 August - 6 September, 2011)

　　I. Free Lunch Pilot Project to Combat Malnutrition Affecting School Children in Xihaigu of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Launched. A new pilot project that adds a new content to the already existing “poverty alleviation through increasing nutrition” in China, has been launched. The“free lunch project for rural primary school students”, launched on 30 August 2011 in Xihaigu of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, aims to address and improve the malnutrition situation among rural youth in the western areas. The pilot project will benefit about 20,000 students. The People’s Government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region will allocate more than 12 million Yuan for this scheme. Since the autumn of 2010, the now successful “nutritious breakfast project” has been implemented for the students in the mountainous areas of Ningxia, providing an egg for free per day per person for more than 390,000 students in the stage of compulsory education. The free lunch is a continuation of the rural youth nutrition projects.
Source: Xinhuanet 31-8-2011
　　II. France’s Poor Population Increase Hits Record. Recent statistics show that in 2009, France had a poor
population of 8.2 million, accounting for 13.5% of the total, up 0.5 percentage points over 2008. French middle income is 1,590 Euros per month (about 14,628 Yuan) and the poverty line is 60% of this figure, equivalent to 954 Euros per person per month.
Source: Xinhuanet 31-8-2011
　　III. Poor Rural Population in the Decrease In Anhui Province, Poor Education Level And Illnesses Persist – 2010 Official Survey. Anhui Survey Team of National Bureau of Statistics has announced positive results for the 2010 rural poverty monitoring data of Anhui Province. The Data shows that the province’s total rural poor population decreased significantly, but statistics also show that the workers from poor families still generally have a low education level, 95.02% of whom have only received junior high school education or below. The proportion of students from poor families only account for 0.85% among the first-year college students, according to the statistics, which single out the high cost of education and illnesses as other root causes of poverty in rural areas.
Source: Hefei Evening News 01-09-2011
　　IV. Agricultural Credit Loans Empower Angola’s Rural Poor. The credit loans for Angolan agriculture movement amounted to $ 47 million by end of August 2011, and it has benefited 24,000 rural workers in 68 cities of 17 provinces of Angola, which is divided into 18 provinces in total. This is according to a communiqué recently issued by the Angola Agricultural Credit Technical Committee, which said that the loans provided in the start-up period account for about 75% of the total promised amount.
Source: Trade News 02-09-2011
　　V. Experts Credit China’s Achievements in Poverty Reduction to ‘Stimulating Rural Reform Policies’. China’s great achievements in poverty reduction can be credited to farmers’ higher enthusiasm for production stimulated by rural reform. Some experts have claimed recently, citing the empowerment reform particularly as the main reason for such achievements.Indian economist Amartya Sen believes that the poverty of a person is not only the result of the lack of goods, but also the result of the lack of access and right to goods. To change this situation, we must re-distribute access to income power which is the only way to empower the poor.
Source: China Social Science News 02-09-2011
　　VI. China's Basic Medical Security System Is World's Largest Health Care System – Official. China's basic medical security system is now able to cover the medical needs of more than 1.25 billion people and has become the world's largest health care system. Statistics show that in 2010, a total of 835 million people had participated in the new rural cooperative medical system, accounting for 96.3% of the total rural population, 234 million people had participated in the basic medical insurance system for urban employees and 187 million people had participated in the basic medical insurance system for urban residents, and the three major medical security systems had covered about 93% of the population. According to recent reports, in 2010, China's total health cost was 1.96 trillion Yuan, accounting for 5.28% of the GDP.
Source: Netease News 04-09-2011

No.22(7 - 13 September, 2011)

　　I. China’s Growth Positively Impacting Other Developing Countries, Says UNIDO Director General. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Director- General Kandeh K Yumkella recently said that China’s trade-driven growth has made China a development partner of other developing countries, adding that China’s growth has had a “trickledown effect” on other developing countries. In his statement, Yumkella pointed out that the expansion of domestic consumption in China has led to a significant increase in demand for natural
resources.and conversely has benefited resource rich developing nations, adding that China’s efficient production system, in addition, has led to the global availability of a wide array of consumer goods at affordable prices. This in turn has led to an indirect increase in purchasing power of consumers in developing countries, and eventually has had a poverty-reduction impact.
Source: Netease News 08-09-2011
　　II. China’s New Aid policy to Africa to Focus on “Permanently Solving Africa's Food Problem”. China’s assistance to Africa will shift to education and agriculture, focusing on solving the food problem, as part of the new policy recently unveiled by the Chinese Minister of Commerce, Chen Deming. The Minister said that, in order to fundamentally solve Africa’s agricultural problems, China will help Africa to build some modern agricultural demonstration centers and invest in irrigation systems as well as mobilize African farmers’ enthusiasm. Since November 2006, China has provided more than $ 7 billion in loans to African countries to build infrastructures.
Source: Economic Observer 09-09-2011
　　III. Volunteers Bring Mid-Autumn Festival“Love Moon Cakes” and Cheers to Vietnam- China Border Areas’Poor Children. Poor children living in the border areas between China and Vietnam, this year, enjoyed the blessings of Mid-Autumn Festival thanks to some volunteers who filled “10 love cars”with more than 400 boxes of “love moon cakes”, and drove forth towards the Vietnam border from Nanning, to bring the cakes to poor school children in the areas. The two schools whose children received the “love moon cakes”were Dushan Complete Primary School in Shuikou Town, Longzhou County, Chongzuo City, Guangxi of China and Hongda Primary School of Fuhe County, Cao Bang, Vietnam, respectively. There are a total of 328 students and more than 20 teachers in the two schools. The majority of the pupils come from rural poor families living in the mountainous areas.
Source: World Wide Web 10-09-2011
　　IV. New Rural Social Pension Insurance System for Rural Residents Already Launched in China. Pilot projects for the new rural pension insurance system have already been covered in 10% of the counties (cities, districts) across China in accordance to the “Guidance Opinions of the State Council on the Implementation of Pilot Projects for the New Rural Pension Insurance System” issued in 2009, in order to solve the problem of rural old-age in China. From now onward, all rural residents above 16 years old, who are non-students and have not been covered by the basic old-age insurance for urban workers, can now participate in the new rural social pension insurance system. In addition, all the insured farmers above 60 years old, who meet the relevant conditions, can receive the basic pension. Currently, a “New Rural Pension Insurance System” has been established nationwide and nearly 200 million rural residents have already participated in the system in all the national and regional pilot areas. Currently more than 50 million rural senior people receive a monthly pension in China. In the current government’s term, China will basically soon achieve the full coverage of the system.
Source: Sohu News 12-09-2011
　　V. CDB to Offer $1 Billion in Loans to Caribbean Countries to Finance Infrastructure Projects. China Development Bank has announced that it will provide one billion U.S. dollars of loans to support the infrastructure development of Caribbean countries. The financial help comes as many Caribbean countries struggle with stagnant economies hit by anemic growth in the United States and Europe--the traditional sources of investment and visitors for many of the region’s tourism-dependent states. While the amount of fresh loans on offer to the region may be smaller than Chinese multibillion-dollar investment pitches in other places like Africa, it could potentially go a long way in many of the Caribbean’s fragile economies
Source: Reuters 13-09-2011
　　VI. Pacific Islands Run The Risk of Suffering from Climate Change Caused Hunger and Malnutrition, ADB Report Warns. A report recently published by the Asian Development Bank and titled “Food Security and Climate Change in the Pacific” warns that if no action is taken, climate change will make an increasing number of poor people suffer from hunger and malnutrition in the Pacific Islands. Currently, the Pacific Island countries have experienced the serious consequences of climate change, such as increasing coastal erosion and floods, which may reduce food production there.
Source: Tencent News 13-09-2011
　　VII. Poverty Rate in the U.S. Highest Since 1993 - U.S. Census Bureau Report. According to a report recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, titled “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010”based on information collected in the 2011 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, in 2010, real median household income in the United States was 49,445 dollars, a 2.3 percent decline from 2009. The nation’s official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009 - the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate, and the highest since 1993.There were 46.2 million Americans living in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009 - the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published. Moreover, the number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 49 million in 2009 to 49.9 million in 2010, while the percentage without coverage - 16.3 percent - was not statistically different from the rate in 2009.
Source: Xinhuanet 13-09-2011

No.23(14 - 20 September, 2011)

　　I. China Women’s Development Foundation Leads the Way in Empowering the Women of China and Wins UN Praises. China Women’s Development Foundation has been commended by the United Nations Deputy Secretary- General Asha-Rose Migiro and United Nations Development Programme Emily Greenspan after it invested a total of 13.08 million Yuan of its venture capital fund to help 36,728 poor women in 20 provinces (autonomous regions) to embark on the path of financial independence, 374 of whom have become business leaders. Commenting on the achievements of China Women’s Development Foundation, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro and United Nations Development Programme Emily Greenspan said that it was very important to empower women and provide them with more opportunities for China to achieve the goal of rapid development.
Source: Phoenix Information 14-09-2011
　　II. "Poverty Alleviation Monthly Donation Action for Nutritional Meals of Children in Poverty-stricken Areas" Sponsored by China Foundation Poverty Alleviation Launched In Beijing. The "Poverty Alleviation Monthly Donation Action for Nutritional Meals of Children in Poverty-stricken Areas" sponsored by China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation was officially launched recently in the Great Hall of the People. Now the public can subsidize the pupils’ nutritional snacks in poor areas by making a monthly donation through this newly launched “Poverty Alleviation Monthly Donation Action for Nutritional Meals of Children in Poverty-stricken Areas". This project, also known as “monthly contributions for extra meals every day”, is designed to help the pupils in impoverished areas especially the poor areas in the central and western regions to improve their nutrition. Under the principle of covering the whole school with free meal, an extra nutritional meal for the pupils in the recipient schools will be provided under the project during the school hours for one year.
Source: China Network 15-09-2011
　　III. WHO to Push Low-Income Countries Deal With Non-Communicable Disease Strategy. The World Health Organization has launched a new strategy for low-income countries to prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. A recent WHO report said that non-communicable diseases have become the world's largest cause of death and 80% of the world's deaths due to non-communicable diseases come from low-income countries. According to WHO estimates, low-income countries only invest $ 1.2 per capita per year can be an effective response to non-communicable diseases.
Source: Xinhuanet 19-09-2011
　　IV. Poverty Rate Increase Hits a Record High in Taiwan. The number of families living below the poverty line have increased by114,000 in Taiwan and the number of registered population claiming benefits also rose to 270,000, both hitting a record high, the latest statistics of Taiwan's interior ministries indicate. Taiwan’s poverty line is determined by three indicators,namely, family income, movable assets and immovable assets. Only when all these three indicators are below the standards set by the authorities in Taiwan, can relevant people obtain the relevant benefits such as life support.
Source: Phoenix Information 19-09-2011
　　V. State-owned Companies to Play Capital Role in Narrowing the Gap between the Rich and Poor in Chongqing. In the next five years, state-owned enterprises in Chongqing will focus on the implementation of ten major projects including supporting micro-enterprises, supporting nonpublic businesses to develop financing, pairingoff poverty alleviation in poor counties, supporting rural "three powers" financing, supporting needy workers, etc. The aim of all this is to give full play to the role of state-owned companies in narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas and the gap between regions. This is according to the latest announcement by Chongqing State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
Source: Phoenix Information 19-09-2011
　　VI. Reduce Poverty Through Improving Local Governance, A New Indonesian Government Initiative. The Government of Indonesia has since 2007 launched the National Community Independent Project, a poverty alleviation project designed to reduce poverty through improving local governance. Under the National Community Independent Project, each region has a management office with staff directly selected by the villagers. In order to avoid deductions and other problems, the central government directly allocates funds to this office every year, the local government can only manage 5% -20% of the fund and the remaining fund is managed by this office.
Source: Xinhuanet 19-09-2011
　　VII. The Reduction of the “European Plan for Aiding the Poorest” Budget Will Hit Poor in France Hard. Since 1987, the EU has been using funds from various charitable foundations directly under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) to provide the most basic food assistance to the poorest every year. However, in July this year, the European Court of Justice made a decision to significantly reduce the budget for “European Plan for Aiding the Poorest” (Pead) in next year from 500 million Euros (about 4.4 billion Yuan) to 113 million Euros (about 994 million Yuan). France will be the most affected by this decision as nearly one third of the 13 million recipients of EU assistance come from France.
Source: China Economic Net 20-09-2011

No.24(21 - 27 September, 2011)

　　I. China: New Trainees in Poverty Reduction Support Get to Work. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced recently that, since the implementation of its "Three Supports and One Assistance" program, a total of 138,900 Chinese people have been trained to provide assistance in the areas of rural education,
agriculture, health care and poverty reduction work; 69,000 people of whom are now working in the rural areas. This year, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other departments concerned decided to launch a new round of college graduates under the "Three Supports and One Assistance" program, selecting 20,000 college graduates every year from 2011 and 100,000 college graduates within five years to work in grass-roots units to support the education, agriculture, health care and poverty reduction in rural areas.
Source: Phoenix Information 21-09-2011
　　II. Chinese Investments Are Creating New Development Opportunities in Africa – African Development Bank Economists. China’s involvement in Africa is having a growing economic impact on Africa, which is not only
conducive to the bilateral trade exchanges, but also it is creating development opportunities for Africa, Vice President and Chief Economist of the African Development Bank Mthuli Ncube said recently. African Development Bank economist Richard Hill for his part dismissed the assertion according to which China has taken the position of traditional western partners in Africa, arguing that China and Africa’s traditional investors actually complement
each other. “ China and other The emerging economies’investments in Africa account only for one third of the total in the continent while Africa’s traditional Western partners still account for a very large proportion of the total investments in Africa and therefore they still play a very important role,” Hill said.
Source: People's Network 21-09-2011
　　III. China Delivers “Biggest Foreign Food Aid Relief ” Since the Founding of New China to Mitigate Effects of Chronic Famine in the Horn of Africa. In a space of two weeks, the Chinese government has twice delivered emergency food aid relief worth 443.2 million Yuan to mitigate the effects of chronic famine in the Horn of Africa, making it the biggest amount of foreign food aid provided by the Chinese government since the founding of New China. Attending the UN “Ministerial Donor Conference on the Famine in the Horn of Africa”in United Nations Headquarters in New York on the fringe of the UN General Assembly Meeting, China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi pointed out that “this drought reflected the vulnerability of food security in Africa”and urged the international community “to actively support African countries to achieve food security and development, increase
assistance for the agricultural development in Africa and provide favorable external conditions for the development of African countries”.
Source: Phoenix Information 25-09-2011
　　IV. Chinese Government Set to Reward Families Involved in Family Planning In Poor Areas Through Fee Remission And Living Allowance Incentives For Their Children. Students from Chinese families involved in family planning in poverty-stricken areas will soon enjoy fee remission and living allowance to study in high schools and secondary vocational schools, under new guidelines established by the latest “Forum on national Family Planning and Poverty Alleviation and Development”. The Forum advocates for further increased assistance to needy families. In recent years, the birth rate in impoverished areas of China is significantly in line with the relevant policy and the trend of multiple births has been contained. Some regions have entered into the state of stable low-birth rate.
Source: Xinhuanet 26-09-2011
　　V. China: Signs of Corruption Rife in Poverty- Stricken Counties. In recent years, "surprising things" have often taken place in poverty-stricken counties nationwide, including – an inflated fee of 800,000 Yuan in Zigui of Hubei, misappropriation of irrigation project funds for a tourist area building in Xinhua of Hunan, serious overstaffing of three
county-level governments in Bazhong, Sichuan… According to yet to be completed statistics, 60% of the online news reports on state-level coming out of poor counties this year are negative. Some netizens have even said that poor counties are only interested in making trouble.
Source: People's Network 26-09-2011
　　VI. Fengdu County Pioneered “Poverty Relief Mutual Aid Societies” Transforming the Lives Rural Farmers. Fengdu County of Chongqing Municipality has taken the lead in establishing poverty relief mutual aid societies. It first applied for city anti-poverty fund of 150,000 Yuan in 2009 to which it added 44,700 Yuan raised by villagers themselves to establish such societies which were set up under the principle of "publicrun, public management and public benefit". Each society is mainly engaged in agricultural production, processing, operation and services as a mutual aid non-profit social organization, featuring self-operation, self-service and democratic management. Each society has set up the general assembly, under which it has a Board of Directors and a Board of Supervisors, it has developed a series of management mechanisms and has set up its own “local bank”. The loan applying procedures are very simple and the loan interest rates are very low. Currently there are 44 poverty relief mutual aid societies in the county and they play a very important role in helping farmers to achieve the income growth of 10,000 Yuan (a year) in various areas.
Source: Hualong Net 27-09-2011
　　VII. “Low Water Use Efficiency and Uneven Geographical Distribution of Water Resources, a 'stumbling block' to the Increase of food outputs in the world”, New Research Reveals. A new research report submitted to the 14th World Water Congress opened in Brazil on 26 September 2010 said that the world’s water resources is
sufficient enough to help double the grain output in the next decade. However, the report warned that low water use efficiency and the uneven geographical distribution of water resources have become a "stumbling block" to restrict the increase of food outputs in the world. The report states that it is the world's most urgent task to double food output by 2050 because, as it is expected, the world will need to feed about 9.5 billion people by then.
Source: Netease News 27-09-2011

No.25(28 September - 11 October, 2011)

　　I. The Role of Women and Adolescent Girls, Key to Food Security in Developing Countries – A Chicago Think Tank Report. Chicago Council on Global Affairs recently issued a report entitled “Girls Grow: A Vital Force in Rural Economies”. Its key point is that adolescent girls and women are the key to unlocking the full potential of agricultural development in poor countries and ensuring food security. According to the report, women are the backbone of rural
economic development, and if female farmers are given equal access to resources such as funds, their performance will be considerable: crop yields will be increased by 20% to 30%; the country's output will increase from 2.5% to 4%; and the number of undernourished people will be reduced by 12% to 17 %.
Source: The Guardian 07-10-2011
　　II. Anti-Poverty Fund Yields Higher Growth Rate Than Expected in Rural China. The 55 million Yuan invested in Guizhou. Dalian, Qingdao, Ningbo and Shenzhen as part of the Central Government’s anti-poverty fund have this year yielded a growth rate higher than that of the previous year. This year, the fixed-point poverty alleviation area of the organs directly under the central government has been further expanded. Currently, a total of 27 organs directly under the central government are carrying out fixed-point poverty relief work in 41 key counties of Guizhou. It has been reported that, in the next decade, Guizhou will establish and improve the mechanisms for communication and linkage with the ministries and commissions under the Central Government, the democratic parties and All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and will strive to add 23 organs directly under the Central Government (central enterprises) to provide counterpart support for poverty reduction in the key counties for poverty alleviation and development in Guizhou so as to achieve the goal of 50 central enterprises’ pairing-off poverty reduction with 50 key counties for poverty alleviation and development.
Source: NetEase News 09-10-2011
　　III. China’s Malnourished School-age Children, An Economic Time Ticking Bomb – Report. China’s economic loss caused by malnutrition reached 1.6 trillion Yuan last year, according to a report recently released by the "Investigation Report on the Nutrition and Health Status of China’s School-age Children" and compiled by Nutrition and Food Safety Office of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. At present, there are reportedly 290 million children aged 0-14 in China including 15 million poor children, adding that children in poor areas have slower growth rate. The report says the underweight rate in impoverished areas have reached 12%-36%, the growth retardation rate is six times that of urban children, the nutritional status of children is far below the WHO standard. In China, the economic loss due to malnutrition amounts to 4% of the gross domestic product (GDP). In 2010, China's GDP was 40.1202 trillion Yuan. Therefore, the economic loss caused by malnutrition was 1.6088 trillion Yuan that year.
Source: Phoenix Information 11-10-2011
　　IV. The Qinghai Provincial Bureau of Poverty Alleviation and Development Is Planning to Resettle 60,000 Poor Farmers and Herdsmen in the Next Five Years. It is striving to convince them “to move away, help them develop their own local industries and improve their wellbeing”. From 2000 to 2010, Qinghai Province reportedly invested a total of 880 million Yuan for the implementation of 160 poverty relief relocation projects involving 22000 households and more than 100,000 poor people, which effectively solved the problems of housing, enrolling in school and shaking off poverty among the poor masses living in mountainous areas.
Source: Xining Evening News 11-10-2011
　　V. The Number of Patients with Mental Illnesses from Poor Families on the Increase in China. On the occasion of the 20th World Mental Health Day, celebrated on 11 October of each year,"share common responsibility to promote mental health" was the chosen theme in China. Relevant experts urged the whole society to pay attention to the mental health problem affecting poor families. National data show that the number of patients with mental illnesses from poor families has significantly increased and even accounts for more than half of the total patients in some provinces. Relevant experts also point out that most patients from poor families suffer from anxiety, depression and other mental health problems. In addition, the fear of higher treatment costs and lack of mental health knowledge aggravate the conditions of some patients who often are already seriously ill at the time they see a doctor. The Chinese Medical sector for its part urged the society to pay attention to the mental health of poor families because it not only reflects the social care, but also plays a positive role in preventing the occurrence of social problems.
Source: Xinhuanet 11-10-2011
　　VI. China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation’s Micro-Credit Faces A Stiff Competition From For-Profit Micro-Credit Companies in Its Heartland of Zhangwu of Liaoning and Kulun of Inner Mongolia. Ahead of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, celebrated on 17 October of each year, a Community Times reporter who visited Zhangwu of Liaoning and Kulun of Inner Mongolia, two microfinance project areas of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, delivered his assessment according to which micro-credit is welcomed by the masses for its good service, convenience and wide coverage. However, the reporter also found that that the project executing agency is facing a dire situation related to financing difficulties, limited knowledge of grass-roots government and the competition of for-profit microcredit companies.
Source: Community Times 11-10-2011
　　VII. Oslo Conference on Energy Urges State- Owned and Private Enterprises to Do More to Help The Poor in Developing Countries Gain Access to Affordable, Clean and Safe Energy. Participants to a two-day conference on energy problems of the world’s poor, recently held in Oslo, called on stateowned and private enterprises in various countries to take effective measures to help billions of poor people in developing countries obtain access to affordable, clean and safe energy. Currently, 1.3 billion people (accounting for 20% of the total world population) in the world do not have access to electricity which is taken for granted in the developed countries, 2.7 billion people have no access to safe and clean energy for cooking and 1.5 million people die of indoor air pollution caused by the use of traditional stoves every year.
Source: China News 11-10-2011

No.26(12 - 18 October, 2011)

　　I. Mixed Communities: Americans highincome earners and low paid poor to live side by side in newly renovated public housing. The US government has launched a large-scale renovation and reconstruction of U. S. security housing (also known as public housing) built in the 1990s. Its main objective is to transform public housing in which very poor inhabitants are concentrated into new mixed communities apartments for both high-income earners and low-income paid groups. In 2010, the Obama government launched what it called a “residential area selection plan” which puts more emphasis on the housing projects’ supportive facility development and sustainability compared with the previous policies. At present, the American security housing has basically completed the transition from being poor low-paid inhabitants’ dwelling slums to becoming mixed communities apartments.
Source: Tencent News 13-10-2011
　　II. Since Chongqing became a municipality directly under the Central government, there has reportedly been a reduction of 3.21 million in the number of poor people living in that city. That is a 90% decrease and a 15 percentage points higher in living standard than national average. The rural per capita net income of key poverty-stricken counties of Chongqing rose from 1397 Yuan in 2000 to 4235 Yuan in 2010, with an annual increase of 11.7%, ranking first in the western areas. The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP) termed it as “The Chongqing Poverty Alleviation Model”and promoted it across the country.
Source: Xinhuanet 14-10-2011
　　III. Northeast China is proving to be China’s grain basket and food price stabilizer. Having achieved a record grain harvest for eight consecutive years and the increase of 27 billion kilograms in food output, Northeast China is expected to stabilize food price in China. Relevant experts point out that Northeast China’s autumn grain accounted for 70% of the total food output in China. Its grain harvest in autumn grain producing areas is of great importance to stabilizing the grain production and guaranteeing food security in China. Overall, China’s grain yield is reportedly increasing year after year. Although it has not brought the absolute level of stability of food prices, it has prevented food price volatility and some vicious incidents of food insecurity.
Source: China News 15-10-2011
　　IV. China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) held its first donation meeting on 17 October 2011 in Beijing. On that occasion, CFPA gave an account of the situation of the use of fund and project implementation to the donors and the public and launched the network sale platform. In 2010, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation raised funds and supplies worth 550 million Yuan, issued 570 million Yuan worth of micro-credit loans, invested nearly 800 million Yuan worth of anti-poverty fund to benefit 2.57 million poor and disaster-affected people. In addition, the administrative welfare expenses accounted for 3.8% of its total annual expenditure. In the future, the Foundation said it will hold annual meetings regularly to report how projects are progressing as well as all the expenditure incurred to the donors, arguing that the continuity of transparent public welfare is the best return to the donors and the public.
Source: Phoenix Information 17-10-2011
　　V. Poor disabled people in rural areas of Hunan Province express their wishes through their representative. Hunan Lianyuan Disabled Persons’Federation Chairman Chen Junsheng recently published an article in which he outlined the five desires or priorities of poor disabled people in rural areas of Hunan Province including policy implementation, availability of auxiliary apparatus, provision of comprehensive rehabilitation and care support services, employment opportunities and basic living security.
Source: Red Net 17-10-2011
　　VI. Taiwan’s Anti-poverty Coalition and other non-governmental organizations jointly launched“44-hour hunger strike” on 16 October 2011 to advocate for reducing the increasing wealth gap between rich and poor through hunger sitin protests. During that day, these groups stood with placards held high and spewing slogans such as: “ten thousand people have monthly salary of less than 20,000 Yuan” or “1.5 million families cannot make ends meet” and so on in front of the "Legislative Assembly". According to the plan, more than 20 people had to take turn to go on hunger strike for five days beginning from 16 October. After experiencing the hunger pain of the poor, the alliance complained that the economic elites and politicians that account for 1% of the population have continuously exploited the wealth of common people that account for 99% of the population, and called for society to work for a change in the political and economic system.
Source: huaxia.com 17-10-2011
　　VII. UNDP Administrator Helen Clark says“China’s Great Effort in Implementing UN Poverty Reduction Objectives Is A Model for the World to Follow”. Attending the “2011 Forum on Global Poverty Reduction and Development”and the“Focusing On Poverty Global Photography Contest Award Ceremony And Exhibition” held in Beijing on 17 October 2011, The United Nations Development Programme Administrator Helen Clark said that China has made great efforts in promoting the implementation of the UN’s poverty reduction goals and UNDP has been always been committed to introducing China’s experience to the world.
Source: Phoenix Information 17-10-2011
　　VIII. “Asian-Pacific Region Can Address Energy Poverty and Achieve Universal Access to Modern Energy By 2030” – World Bank Report. A new report recently released by the World Bank and titled “All roads lead to Rome: achieve universal access to modern energy in East Asia and Pacific regions” says the global financial institution believes it is a possible and an achievable goal for the Asian- Pacific Region to address energy poverty and achieve universal access to modern energy by 2030. The report points out that in East Asia and Pacific regions,
170 million people still have no access to electricity and 1 billion people are still using solid fuel for cooking. Consequently, indoor air pollution kills more than 60 million people every year. It is estimated that the East Asian region needs to invest about 78 billion U.S. dollars to achieve universal access to electricity, modern fuel and advanced home appliances. If you take into account the region’s GDP growth rates, it is easy to achieve this goal.
Source: China News 18-10-2011

No.27(19 - 25 October, 2011)

　　I. Gansu Shakes off Its “China’s Most Poverty- Stricken Province” Image As The Number of Rural Poor Significantly Reduces. Gansu is known as the province with the highest incidence of poverty in China. However in the last decade, Gansu managed to shake off that image thanks to the innovation of approaches to poverty alleviation in Gansu, especially after the implementation of Entire Village Advancement Projects. The number of rural poor has significantly been reduced from 7.56 million at the end of 2000 to 3.098 million by the end of 2010 with incidences of poverty dropping from 37.2% to 14.8%. The current situation shows that he basic conditions in poor areas have significantly improved. The number of people living in abject poverty went down to 4.462 million.
Source: World Wide Web 20-10-2011
　　II. China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation’s Microfinance Projects Successfully Hits Record High. As one of the earliest practitioners of pro bono microfinance in China, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation’s record over
the last 16 years has proven to be outstanding. China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation initiated several projects that have covered 13 provinces (municipalities) and 52 districts (counties), issued more than 2.1 billion Yuan of loans and had more than 100,000 effective clients, directly benefiting more than 1 million poor people, and the repayment rate has exceeded 99.9%.
Source: Hexun Network 20-10-2011
　　III. Poverty Rates Up in most U.S. States, Cities: Census. The ranks of the poor rose in almost all U.S. states and cities in 2010, despite the end of the longest and deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression the year before, U.S. Census data released recently showed. Mississippi and New Mexico had the highest poverty rates,
with more than one out of every five people in each state living in poverty. New Hampshire had the lowest poverty rate, at 8.3 percent, making it the only state with a poverty rate below 10 percent.
Source: Reuters 21-10-2011
　　IV. China’ s New Rural Social Pension Insurance and Social Pension Insurance for Urban Residents Extended Coverage Benefiting Millions of People. A total of 235 million people participated in China’s new rural social pension insurance and social pension insurance for urban residents pilot projects, and 66,941,100 insured people received insurance compensation, as of the end of September 2011, the State Council has announced. In 2009, the State Council carried out pilot projects of new rural social pension insurance covering 10% of the domestic
areas, and established a new rural insurance system integrating individual contributions, collective benefits and government subsidies. In 2011, the government decided to expand the coverage of pilot projects of new rural insurance system to 60% of the domestic areas.
Source: China Daily 23-10-2011
　　V. "Helping The Poor and Benefiting People" Training Scheme for Poor Students Launched in Hainan Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School. The first "Helping The Poor and Benefiting People" training scheme kicked off in Hainan Province with 56 needy students from mountainous areas attending the Hainan Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School. They will receive a three-year free building construction training under the "Helping The Poor and Benefiting People" training scheme in the school.
Source: Xinmin Network 23-10-2011
　　VI. Daxibian Town of Kaihua County’s Rural Farmers’ Self Development Plan Gets The Backing of The Forestry Department of Zhejiang Province. The Forestry Department of Zhejiang Province has managed to complete seven of the 11 planned projects since it launched its“One-for-One Anti-Poverty Action”in Daxibian Town of Kaihua County a year ago, raising more than 3.7 million Yuan of worth of anti-poverty funds in the process . In 2010, the per capita net income of low-income farmers in Daxibian Town reached 5515 Yuan, 632 Yuan more over the previous year, up 12.9%.
Source: NetEase News 24-10-2011
　　VII. Tibet’s Social Security System Upgrade Benefits Rural Poor. The coverage of Tibet's rural minimum living allowance has been further expanded. As a result, all rural households with per capita annual income below 1450 Yuan have been covered and the living standard has been comprehensively improved. Since the establishment of “Tibet's Rural Minimum Living Security System” in 2007, the minimum living standard has improved fourfold. On 1 January 2011, the minimum living allowance for rural residents per person per year was yet again enhanced. Tibet will take other appropriate measures for those in special difficulties or not covered by the rural minimum
living allowance system, based on different kinds of groups. Tibet will also strengthen the linkage among the rural minimum living security system, reemployment of laborers, pension insurance and other social security systems. To those having been covered by the minimum living security system and having the ability to work, they are encouraged to seek self-employment to change their poverty status.
Source: Tencent News 25-10-2011

No.28(26 October - 1 November, 2011)

　　I. New Chinese Central Government-funded“Nutritious Meal Subsidies for Rural Students Scheme” Announced. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has announced the launch of nutrition improvement program for rural students in the period of compulsory education.effective from this autumn semester onwards. Under the program,
the Central Government will provide nutritious meal subsidy of 3 Yuan per person per day for rural students in the period of compulsory education in pilot areas, covering about 26 million students in 680 counties (cities). According to the preliminary estimates, the Government will have to earmark more than 16 billion Yuan per year worth of state
funds to be spent on such pilot projects, which will be carried out the direct supervision of the central government. Nevertheless, the Central Government encourages local governments to implement pilot projects for nutrition improvement based on local conditions, giving priority to impoverished areas, minority and border regions as well as old revolutionary base areas.
Source: Xinhuanet 26-10-2011
　　II. Obama Announces A New Measure That Will Lower Student Loans Montly Payments and Interest Rate. U.S. President Barack Obama recently announced that the U.S. government will soon implement a series of measures aimed at "reducing the burden" of student loans. Under the new measure which will come into effect from the beginning of 2012 rather than from early 2014 carries a number of changes to help college students and graduates reduce their student loan repayments, including, the adjustment of deposit rates. The new measure accordingly stipulates that“the monthly repayment of student loan must not exceed 10% of the debtors’ monthly income”; as well as that “if the debtor does not pay off the loan in 20 years, the remaining debt will be written off ”.
It is estimated that this measure will benefit about 5.8 million people.
Source: People's Network 27-10-2011
　　III. Lack of Adequate Social Protection Source of Crises and Social Instability - UN Report. A new report recently issued by the United Nations' Minimum Social Security Advisory Council and titled "Social Protection Floor for a Fair and Inclusive Globalization”, pointed out that "an estimated 5.1 billion people (equivalent
to 75% of the people in the world) lack adequate social security or social protection worldwide, while just over 15 per cent of the world’s unemployed worldwide are receiving some form of unemployment benefits". The report said that three of every four people worldwide lack adequate social protection, which has not only hindered the poor's potential for development, but also threatened political stability and social prosperity. According to the report.1440 million people worldwide live on less than US$ 1.25 per day, while more than 1750 million people live in various kinds of poverty, such as poor health, lack of economic opportunities and low living standards.
Source: United Nations Information Centre 27-10-2011
　　IV. "Love of Land • Water Cellar for Mothers" Project Makes Water Flow for Thousands of Farmers and Herdsmen throughout Tibet Autonomous Region. A 12.63 million Yuan special fund invested in Tibet as part of the implementation of "Love of Land • Water Cellar for Mothers", a public welfare project, has so far facilitated the construction of 470 "Water Cellars for Mothers", benefiting more than 550,000 farmers and herdsmen. A decade since the implementation of this project, the cellars have covered 7 cities in Tibet and solved the water problem for production and living which affected 62 counties in Tibet, that is to say 84 villages comprising 9302 households
with more than 50,000 people and more than 830,000 livestock.
Source: Phoenix Information 29-10-2011
　　V. China's Clean Energy Projects Set to Empower African Countries to Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change. Attending the first session of China-Africa Think Tanks Forum(CATTF), Lu Shaye, Secretary-General of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and Director-General of the Department of African Affairs in.the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that, in order to improve African countries’ ability to adapt to climate change, China has been actively implementing 100 clean energy projects in Africa, including solar, biogas and small hydropower projects. Mr Lu Shaye revealed that China has worked out national plans and accordingly signed memoranda of understanding with 11 countries, including Ethiopia and Mozambique. He confirmed that relevant projects will start in the near future.
Source: Phoenix Information 30-10-2011
　　VI. China's Hunan Provincial Government Issues to Spend 80% of The Price Adjustment Funds to Subsidies Poor Hit in The Pocket by Commodities' Rising Prices.Under the new regulations issued by the Hunan Provincial Government, 80% of the price adjustment funds will be spent as dynamic price subsidies for lowincome people. Since November last year, the Hunan Provincial Government has reportedly used a total of nearly 1 billion Yuan of price adjustment funds as temporary price subsidies for needy people; adjusted the minimum security standards according to price situation and offered one-time subsidies in the Spring Festival and other important holidays to alleviate the price impact on the lives of some poor people affected by incidences of commodities’rising prices.
Source: International Business 31-10-2011
　　VII. Chinese Rural Farmers' Income Soars Up after Joining "Farmers' Development Cooperatives in China". The income of Chinese rural farmers who joined the "Farmers' Development Cooperatives in China" (DFCC) since 2006, is now 20% higher than that of other farmers who did not, a new report recently published by the same FDCC, covering the 2006-2010 period, disclosed. "Chinese farmers are "holding together" to cope with difficulties of production and marketing through establishing professional cooperatives to bid farewell to the peasant economy," the report said. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture show that, by the end of June this year, the number of the farmers’cooperatives registered in the Administration for Industry and Commerce reached 446,000, and the cooperatives have a total of 35.7 million members, accounting for 14.3% of the total rural households in China. That means that one in every seven rural households has joined the cooperatives.
Source: Xinhuanet 01-11-2011

No.29(2 - 8 November, 2011)

　　I. Global Food Prices Remain High and Volatile, Hitting the Poorest Countries Most- World Bank’s Food Price Index 2011. The high food prices and the continued volatility have had the greatest impact on the poorest countries,making global economic situation worse, according to the latest “Observation of Food Prices” released by the World Bank Group shortly before the G20 Summit was held in Cannes, France. The World Bank’s food price index rose by 15% between October 2010 and January 2011, is 29% above its level a year earlier, and only 3% below its June 2008 peak. The last six months have seen sharp increases in the global prices of wheat, maize, sugar and
edible oils, with a relatively smaller increase in rice prices. World Bank President Robert Zoellick said that “the food crisis was far from over”and urged the G20 to give priority to food problem.
Source: Sohu News 02-11-2011
　　II. Under His Newly Announced “Sustainable Energy for All Initiative”, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Makes Universal Access to Energy His Top Priority. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced his new "Sustainable Energy for All Initiative" to the General Assembly, proposing to achieve three major objectives by 2030 under this plan, namely to ensure universal access to modern energy services worldwide, to double the speed of enhancing energy efficiency and to double the proportion of renewable energy in the energy used worldwide. According to UN statistics, one of every five people in the world has no access to modern energy and 3 billion people
rely on wood, coal, charcoal or dung for cooking and heating and live in “energy poverty”.
Source: Sina News 02-11-2011
　　III. Microsoft Founder Bill Gates Commended China’s “Active Cooperation with Africa” in Time of Global Financial Crisis. Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently called on the Group of Twenty (G20) to provide more assistance to poor countries and praised the behavior of Chinese investors in Africa. Gates said that, facing the current economic crisis, many European countries have been concerned only to save Greece, ignoring to help poor countries. He said that China has made active cooperation with Africa, invested in Africa, established a lot of infrastructure, provided a great deal of assistance to local people and conducted cooperation with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation set up by Gates himself. He believes that these initiatives are commendable.
Source: China Economic Net 04-11-2011
　　IV. China Development Bank Deepens Africa Ties with Donation to China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) Programme. The China Development Bank (CDB) recently donated a $1.5 million to the Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen-based China Europe International Business School’s (CEIBS) Africa Programme to
support its business management training courses in Africa; and to give more African entrepreneurs and executives the opportunity to receive high-end business management trainings and thus become more innovative and outstanding entrepreneurs. As China's largest foreign investment and financing cooperative bank, CDB has conducted cooperation with many countries in Africa. By the end of September 2011, it had provided nearly $ 7 billion of financial support for more than 30 African
countries.
Source: Phoenix Information 05-11-2011

　　V. Gansu Provincial Office of Poverty Alleviation Involves the Media as An Important Partner in Its Quest to Alleviate Poverty. The Gansu Provincial Office of Poverty Alleviation recently held a media forum on poverty alleviation advocacy, as part of its strategy to learn from and to seek the support of the central media organs in Gansu and major local media outlets, in order to better plan and implement its poverty alleviation programmes and development work. It pointed out at the forum that the full mobilization of the cadres and masses in poor areas to create a suitable environment and enthusiasm for poverty alleviation implementation programmes and development work during the "12th Five-Year Plan" period is of great significance. The Gansu Provincial Office of Poverty Alleviation said it looked to the modern and new media to do a good propaganda job for poverty alleviation and development and continue to make greater efforts in increasing poverty reduction awareness and advocacy.
Source: Xinhuanet 05-11-2011
　　VI. The Central Government’s Newly-launched "Poverty Alleviation and Development Program for Rural China”Nine-Year Plan (2011-2020) to Lift Rural Farmers Living in China’s Key Counties’Old Revolutionary Base Areas Has Produced Good Results. A Reporter Who Recently Visited the Areas Confirmed. 2011 is the first year for the implementation of the “Poverty Alleviation and Development Program for Rural China (2011-2020)”.To increase their support for old revolutionary base areas, the Ministry of Finance and the State Council Leading Group of Poverty Alleviation and Development have, since 2008, launched entire village advancement projects in the key counties’ old revolutionary base areas. The reporter found out that, under the implementation of entire village advancement projects, farmers’production and living conditions have been significantly improved, their self-development capacity has been greatly enhanced and the pace of economic development has been obviously speeded up. According to the reporter, transparency, participation and mobilization of resources are the key to the good results.
Source: Sina News 07-11-2011
　　VII. Gansu Research Institute for Water Resources Conservancy and Kenyan Government’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation Signed “Kenya Rainwater Harvesting and Utilization of Water Resources Management and Technical Cooperation Memorandum”. Gansu Research Institute for Water Resources Conservancy and the Kenyan Government’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation recently signed a “Memorandum of Cooperation” in the use of rainwater harvesting in Kenya, advanced technology demonstration projects and staff training. Under the “Kenya Rainwater Harvesting and Utilization of Water Resources Management and Technical Cooperation Memorandum”, Gansu will provide technical assistance for rainwater harvesting and utilization of water resources
management for three years. The projects will be funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).The Kenyan Government’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation’s Permanent Secretary David Stower, said that water resources per capita in Kenya is 647 cubic meters and Kenya is experiencing a serious shortage of water. “Gansu’s achievement and successful experience in the field of water management and use are a useful reference for Kenya,” Stower said.
Source: China Network 08-11-2011

No.30(9 - 15 November, 2011)

　　I. Poverty Incidence Remains High in Vietnam Despite High Economic Growth – UNDP Report The proportion of poverty-stricken people in Vietnam is still very high and increasing, despite the recent rapid economic development which has contributed to the improvement of Vietnam's human development index, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Vietnam’s Human Development Report 2011 indicates. The UNDP Report stresses that in the future, more importance should be attached to poverty reduction, targeting health care and education. According to the report, poverty rate in Vietnam is currently 23.3%.
Source: Phoenix Information 09-11-2011
　　II. SASAC Announces Overall Chinese Stateowned Corporate Social Responsibility Practices A list of 74 Corporate elite social responsibility practices that must be adhered to by 64 central enterprises was recently been unveiled by the State Council's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Committee (SASAC). The announcement reportedly followed a series of reports issued by central state-owned enterprises. China National Petroleum Corporation, China Minmetals and Sinosteel issued the country reports, National Grid and Southern Power Grid released green development report, the Three Gorges Group issued the environmental protection report and Huadian Group released a report on sustainable development of hydropower. It is said that 93 central enterprises are designated to support 189 national key poor counties, involving 83 million people in 21 provinces / autonomous regions /municipalities. According to incomplete statistics, the charity donation made by central state-owned enterprises reached 13.37 billion Yuan from 2008 to 2010.
Source: China Daily 11-11-2011
　　III. China Has Become Africa’s Largest Trading Partner, New Figures Show.China’s investment stock for Africa exceeds $ 10 billion, 20 times that in 2003, former Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Sun Guangxiang told the Second Roundtable Conference on Sino-African Cooperation recently. Sun Guangxiang said that in 2009, China for the first time became Africa's largest trading partner. In 2010, the bilateral trade value reached $ 126.9 billion. During the first half of this year, the bilateral trade volume was increasing steadily, reached $ 79 billion in total. Currently, smooth progress has been made in the six overseas economic and trading zones set up by China in five countries in Africa. Special loans to promote SME development in Africa were officially launched, involving 14 projects. From 2010 to 2012, China will offer $ 10 billion worth of preferential loans to African countries, to be spent mainly on infrastructure construction.
Source: Sina News 12-11-2011
　　IV. China-Africa Development Fund Opens West Africa Office in Accra, Ghana.The China- Africa Development Fund (CAD Fund) has officially opened its West Africa Office in Accra, the capital of Ghana. CAD Fund is a special equity investment fund set up to encourage and support Chinese enterprises to invest in Africa. It has $5 billion available to invest in Africa. The National Development Bank alone availed $ 1 billion for the first phase to kick start investments in energy, infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing.More than 100 investment projects have reportedly already been implemented in Africa thanks to the CAD Fund, which also provided financial support for more than 50 projects in nearly 30 African countries. After Phase I projects are completed and put into production, the fund will bring Chinese investment of a total value of more than $ 5 billion in Africa, increase foreign exchange revenue from export of $ 1.8 billion or so, increase local tax revenue of about $ 900 million and provide jobs for about 180,000 people. It will play an active role in promoting Africa’s economic development and improving African people’s livelihood.
Source: Xinhuanet 12-11-2011
　　V. South Africa Unveils Its "2030 National Development Plan" for Achieving Poverty Reduction and Social Equality.The South Africa plans to achieve poverty reduction and social fairness in the next two decades, according to the "2030 National Development Plan" recently unveiled by the country’s National Planning Commission. Accordingly, South Africa plans to achieve annual economic growth of 5.4% and create 11 million jobs in the next two decades; so much so that by 2030, the unemployment rate in South Africa is expected to drop from the current 25% to 6%, the Gini coefficient is expected to drop from the present 0.7 to 0.6 and the poverty will be completely eliminated.
Source: Xinhuanet 12-11-2011
　　VI. ADB Approves $ 150 Million Loan for Xi’an City ’s Traffic Environment Improvement.The Asian Development Bank recently decided to extend a $ 150 million loan to Xi’an City, the capital of China’s Shaanxi Province will receive a $ 150 million loan to be spent on the improvement of the city's traffic environment, the Bank decided. ADB calls Shaanxi Province"one of China's poorest and least developed provinces". The loans will be used mainly for road repair, the construction of facilities for pedestrian mobility and safety, construction of multi-modal
interchange facilities, intelligent transportation systems, low-emission fuel infrastructure, and so on. ADB said, by providing more convenient and safe transport options, this project will bring health and environmental benefits for millions of urban residents and create hundreds of jobs as well.
Source: China Business News 15-11-2011
　　VII. The Agricultural Development Section of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Provide Grants for Seven African Countries. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently announced that it will use its agricultural research fund to help finance the agricultural sector development of seven African countries and some regions in India and Bangladesh. The seven African countries include Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Gates Foundation says it will also pay special attention to Bihar in the northern India and Orissa in the east, and will set up a special project in Bangladesh.
Source: Xinhuanet 15-11-2011

No.31(16 - 22 November, 2011)

　　I. China Invested 34.93 Billion Yuan for Poverty Alleviation During 2001 and 2010 – New White Paper Shows. A new White Paper recently released by the Information Office of the State Council, titled "New Progress in Development-oriented Poverty Reduction Program for Rural China", points out that over the past decade, the central and local governments continued to restructure their financial expenditure and gradually increased financial investment for poverty alleviation. The financial inputs increased from 12.75 billion Yuan in 2001 to 34.93 billion Yuan in 2010, with an annual growth of 11.9%, and a total of 204.38 billion Yuan was invested over the decade. In addition,
statistics show that by 2010, a total of $ 1.4 billion was spent in the field of poverty reduction, including domestic supportive funds, the direct investment of which totaled nearly 20 billion Yuan. 110 foreignfunded projects were implemented, covering more than 300 counties in 20 provinces (districts, cities) in central and western regions of China, benefiting nearly 20 million poor people.
Source: People's Network 16-11-2011
　　II. Scientists and Technicians’ Basic Skills Training To Poor in Rural Jilin Boosts Poverty Alleviation Drive. Since the implementation of“Three Support” work in Jilin Province, various technological and scientific units have given full play to their strength to support the poor, needy party members and the party organizations in difficulty. The province's science and technology units under the Provincial Department of Science and Technology have reportedly mobilized about 20,000 scientists to participate in the work to help 20,000 people covered by the minimum living security system. Up to now, they’ve held more than 2,000 technical trainings, provided on-site technical services for more than 2,000 people, organized more than 100 skills trainings, provided more than 8,000 pieces of technical information and issued 100,000 copies of technical data as well.
Source: Sohu News 16-11-2011
　　III. The World Bank’s Loans to China to Be Maintained at $1.5 Billion Every Year, Over The Next Five Years. The World Bank’s annual loans to China will be maintained at $1.5 billion annually for the next five years, mainly focusing on transportation, environmental protection, natural resource management, rural poverty reduction, renewable energy and energy efficiency, Rachel Kyte, the bank's vice president of sustainable development said recently. The World Bank also hopes to apply its experience in China to its practice in other countries, she said. Since the World Bank issued the first loan to China in 1981, by June 30, 2011, the World Bank had provided more than $ 49.15 billion for China in total to support 337 development projects, 73 of which are being implemented.
Source: Phoenix News/Global Times 16-11-2011
　　IV. IFAD Expects Remittances to Grow to $350 Billion in 2011. Hopes This Money Can Be Invested in Agriculture. Remittances sent by migrant workers around the world to their homelands are expected to exceed $ 350 billion this year, an official of the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s Financing Facility for Remittances said recently. The official pointed out that the remittances are not only helping to improve the lives of the family members of these migrants, but also promoting community and national development. Since studies have shown that the role of agricultural growth is at least twice that in other fields, if part of the remittances can be invested in agriculture, it will play an important role in reducing poverty, improving food security, promoting stability and so on, the official said.
Source: United Nations Information Centre 17-11-2011
　　V. Poverty Alleviation by Relocation Is Proving to Be A Very Effective Policy for Anti-Poverty Drive in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Poverty alleviation by relocation can effectively solve the problem of shaking off poverty and development of the poor from various ethnic groups as the case of the Qinghai Province, located in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has proven. Restricted by many factors, Qinghai has long been a typical poverty-stricken area in China. During the“Eleventh Five-Year Plan” period, Qinghai Province invested 220 billion Yuan in total, implemented 135 projects and relocated 10,000 poor households and more than 50,000 people. Practice has proved that the implementation of this policy improved the living conditions of the poor, broadened the income sources and accelerated the farmers’ pace of getting rich. During the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period, the provincial government is going to invest 2.3 billion Yuan to complete the relocation-oriented poverty alleviation of 322 village (communities), 23,600 households and more than 100,000 people.
Source: Sohu News 18-11-2011
　　VI. Guangdong and Guangxi Cities Sign a Poverty Reduction Twinning Cooperation Agreement. Guangdong and Guangxi Cities recently signed the “Outline of the Program for the Cooperation between Guangdong and Guangxi in Poverty Alleviation During the 12th Five-Year Plan Period”. This agreement shows that the two provinces are responding positively to the strategic plan of poverty alleviation cooperation of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, Guangdong and Guangxi will strengthen cooperation in eight areas to boost the economic and social development in poor areas of Guangxi and speed up the process for the poor to become wealthy, aiming to achieve mutual benefit and common development. The two cities will continue to make the best of their twinning cooperation; carry out the construction of model village projects in poverty alleviation and development; strengthen regional economic cooperation; strengthen labor cooperation; continue civil servants trainings and exchange; implement a new round of educational cooperation; enhance traffic coordination; further integrate regional tourism resources and enhance tourism cooperation. By the end of 2010, Guangdong City had provided a total of 1.2809 billion Yuan of assistance for Guangxi City.
Source: Hexun News 21-11-2011
　　VII. Philippines’s Davao and The Mindanao Development Body Says Mining Crucial to Anti- Poverty Drive. Mining investments, now under threat from restrictions imposed by a growing number of local governments, are needed to help Davao Region reduce its poverty rate to about 10% by 2016 from an estimated 26% currently, Vicente T. Lao, president of the Philippines Regional Development Council (RDC) and Chairman of the Davao and the Mindanao Business Council Chairman said recently. Source: Business World Online/Website of the Ministry of Commerce 21-11-2011

No.32(23 - 30 November, 2011)

　　I. AFDB and World Bank Loans to Boost Morocco’s photovoltaic power generation. The African Development Bank (AFDB) has decided to provide $ 497 million worth of loans to Morocco. The money is to be spent mainly for the construction of a series of photovoltaic power generation projects. Prior to AFDB’s announcement, the World Bank too issued more loans valued at $ 297 million to the north African country. The money is to be spent for similar projects. Morocco is projecting itself to become the world's largest photovoltaic project after the completion of all these projects by 2016. This will greatly boost the country’s economic development and improve people’s living conditions, especially in poor areas.
Source: PV Technology Network 24-11-2011
　　II. China’s Investments in Poverty Reduction Increase Significantly in One Year. The Chinese Government’s investments in poverty alleviation have seen a 21.25% increase from 22.268 billion Yuan last year to 27 billion Yuan this year. The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development has developed a special plan for “entire village advancement” during the "12th Five-Year Plan", and plans to implement entire village advancement projects in 6000 poverty-stricken villages by the end of 2011. It has, together with the Ministry of Finance, launched “Rain Plan Experimental Reform” pilot projects in 100 key counties.
Source: CDC 28-11-2011
　　III. Yunnan’s "Revitalizing Borders and Improving Residents' Well-being" Projects Deemed “Very Successful”. Yunnan Provincial Government announced that it invested 42.5 billion Yuan to implement "Revitalize Borders and Improving residents' Well-being" projects, which successfully completed 6 programmes including infrastructure construction, food, clothing and housing, industry development, quality improvement, social security and social stability as well as ecological protection and construction, and addressed the urgent needs of border areas. Due to the implementation of "Revitalizing Border and Improving Residents’ Well-being” projects, the GDP of border areas of Yunnan Province increased from 30.557 billion Yuan in 2005 to 68.331 billion Yuan in 2010, with an average annual growth of 13.2%.
Source: Xinhuanet 28-11-2011
　　IV. China Decides to Lifts the Poverty Line from 1,196 Yuan a Year to 2,300 Yuan As More and More Rural Residents Are Covered by the Government's Poverty Alleviation Program. The Chinese Central Government has decided to lift the poverty line to an annual per capita income of 2300 Yuan, that is 92% higher than the 2009 poverty line. It means more low-income people will be covered by the Government’s poverty alleviation program than before. At the same time, the State Council has created a dynamic adjustment mechanism for the name list of 592 key poverty alleviation counties (formerly counties) to achieve appropriate adjustment of poverty indicators according to actual situations.
Source: People's Daily Online 29-11-2011
　　V. Guizhou Province Invests in Rural Tourism to Achieve Poverty Alleviation in Poor Rural Areas. Guizhou Province has developed a plan to double investments in rural tourism and poverty alleviation during the “12th Five-Year Plan”. Under the plan, the annual financial anti-poverty fund will amount to no less than 100 million Yuan and
the provincial tourism development fund will be no less than 15 million Yuan. The money will be spent to help poor farmers living in areas with appropriate conditions to develop rural tourism. Meanwhile, a special national fund will be allocated in order to increase investments in public cultural service setups covering towns and villages in order
to safeguard the basic elements of national culture there. According to the plan, by 2015, the total income for rural tourism and poverty alleviation projects in the province will exceed 2 billion Yuan.
Source: Xinhuanet 28-11-2011
　　VI. The Chinese Central Government’s Choice of Chongqing Municipality as A Demonstration Zone for National Poverty Alleviation and Development Finally Pays Off. Since the Chinese Central Government chose
Chongqing municipality in western China as a demonstration zone for national poverty alleviation and development, the latest statistics show that the number of the poor living in absolute poverty there has dropped from 3.66 million at the early stage after Chongqing became a municipality to 450,000 in 2010, that is a decline of nearly 90%. By choosing Chongqing as a demonstration zone for national poverty alleviation and development, the Chinese Central Government aims at "narrowing the three gaps and promoting common prosperity", through implementing 10,000-Yuan income growth projects in the "two-wing" areas, providing "three powers" mortgage loans and founding mutual fund cooperatives, etc.,
Source: Xinhuanet 29-11-2011
　　VII. Poverty Alleviation: China Has Set an Example for Other Countries to Follow, Says UK International Development Secretary. During his recent visit to China, the British International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, said that China has reduced the proportion of the poor living below the poverty line from 84% to 16% over the past 25 years, and the efforts made by the Chinese government to improve the living standards of its people are admirable. Mitchell also praised China’s efforts in helping other countries and promoting their development. Statistics from the UK Department for International Development (DFiD), show that China has launched more than 1000 aid projects in more than 120 countries over the past 11 years.
Source: Xinhuanet 29-11-2011
　　VIII. 1.4 Billion People Worldwide Still Do Not Have Access to Electricity – UN Report.1.4 billion people worldwide still have no access to electricity in 2010, according to a new report recently released by the Genevabased
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Nevertheless, the“Technology and Innovation Report 2011” suggests that we can eliminate the "power poverty" by developing renewable energy. It points out that
among the major regions in the world, South Asia has the largest number of people without access to electricity, that is about 590 million, but 69.5% of people in sub-Saharan Africa make the largest proportion of people without access to electricity.
Source: China News 29-11-2011

No.33(1 - 7 December, 2011)

　　I. Economic Growth Causes Poverty Index to Decline in Latin America in 2011 – UN Report. The poverty rate in Latin America in 2011 is the lowest during the past two decades due to local economic growth, as pointed out by
the new Report on the "Social Situation of Latin America in 2011" recently released by the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). According to the report, poverty index in Latin America and the Caribbean dropped from 48.4% in 1990 to 31.4% in 2010, and it is estimated that there are 174 million poor
people in Latin America in 2011. The poverty index declined because of local economic recovery and the reduction of poor people due to government subsidies for education and health care.
Source: People's Daily Online 30-11-2011
　　II. After Fixing a New Poverty Line, China’s Target Plan to Lift 128 million People out of Poverty Is Already Underway. There will be about 128 million poor people in China, accounting for 13.4% of rur a l r e s ident s , according to the new poverty line of 2300 Yuan. After the raising of the new poverty line and the launch of "China's Rural Poverty A l l e v i a t i o n and Development Program (2011-2020)" for rural poverty alleviation and development in the next decade, China’s main target will be the improvement of the living standard of rural residents with the ability to work but who are still living below the poverty line. China will accordingly give priority to 11 contiguous poor regions including Liupanshan of Guizhou, etc, Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Qinghai and three prefectures in South Xinjiang (Kashi, Hotan and Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture).
Source: China Network 02-12-2011
　　III. The World Bank’s $ 100 Million Loan to Mexico to Target the Improvement of The Country’s Financial Services. The World Bank recently announced that it will provide a $ 100 million loan to Mexico to expand and improve its financial services, especially in border areas. Lowincome people in Mexico are expected to be the main beneficiaries, including vulnerable groups, indigenous residents, rural women, etc. This World Bank’s “financial inclusion program” is designed to establish a database through personnel training and technical assistance to improve the performance of financial communication system, increase financial products, expand the scope of services and thus enhance the management level of Mexico's national savings and financial services.
Source: Xinhuanet 02-12-2011
　　IV. World Bank Experts Highly Appraised China’s Rise in Poverty Threshold. Dr. Chen Shaohua, a senior statistician responsible for global poverty measurement in the World Bank’s Development Economics Research Group, said that China’s Rise in Poverty Threshold was “the most exciting news for her during her over 20 years of working in the World Bank” Dr. Chen Shaohua commented: “The Chinese government has just raised the national poverty threshold to 2,300 yuan/ year based on 2010 prices, a 92% increase from the standard set in 2009, and this is equivalent to US$1.8/day if converted to the US dollar at 2005 PPP (purchasing power parity) prices. China’s new poverty line is close to the median of that of the low- and middle-income countries. In line with the new poverty threshold, it is estimated that the proportion of poor population with a per capita net income of less than US$1.8/day ranged between 12% and 15% in 2008. The figure was definitely much lower in 2010, but we don’t have the latest data for measurement or calculation. It implies that the central government will make more efforts to serve the poverty-stricken population, who will benefit more from economic growth.”
Source: People’s Daily 05-12-2011
　　V. China’s Public Anti-Poverty Fund Is Expected to Reach 200 Billion Yuan in 2011. China's Assistant Finance Minister Hu Jinglin recently issued a statement according to which the Ministry of Finance will actively perform its functions to establish and improve the mechanism for public financial investment to give priority to
poverty-stricken areas and the poor so as to provide strong financial support for the economic and social development in poor areas, especially contiguous poverty-stricken regions. According to statistics, in 2010, the central government issued integrated antipoverty funds of about 161.8 billion Yuan targeting seven aspects of poverty reduction, including special financial support for poverty alleviation, rural minimum living security and other related
policies to protect people’s livelihood and support agricultural production, which directly benefited the poor farmers in rural poverty-stricken areas. In 2011, the central government’s anti-poverty fund is expected to reach 200 billion Yuan.
Source: Phoenix News 06-12-2011
　　VI. Durban Climate Change Conference Participants Attracted by Ningxia’s Experience in Adapt ing to Climate and Poverty Reduction. During the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Durban, South African from 1 December 2011 to 5 December 2011, Ma Zhongyu, Deputy Director of Ningxia Provincial Commission of Development and Reform made use of the "Chinese Corner" platform to share with the rest of the world Ningxia’s experience in positively adapting to climate change to solve the problem of poverty and its actions in poverty reduction by ecological migration, which aroused both international concern and response.
Source: Ningxia Daily 06-12-2011
　　VII. Low Food Production Caused by Bad Weather Conditions Incurs Rising Food Prices and Drags Down Millions of People Worldwide to Poverty – Oxfam Report. The ever rising food prices caused by extreme bad weather conditions have made tens of millions of people worldwide fall into poverty in the past 18 months, a new report recently released by Charity organization Oxfam pointed out,. The report reviewed how the bad weather pushed up food prices over the past year. From July to September last year, the global wheat price rose by 60% to 80%; in April 2011, the wheat prices rose by 85% compared to the same period in 2010. Due to the drought, the sorghum prices rose by 393% in Somalia in July this year. The corn prices in Ethiopia and Kenya were respectively 191% and 161% higher than the average price over the previous five years.
Source: China News 06-12-2011

No.34(7 - 13 December, 2011)

　　I . Shandong Provinc i a l Government Announces Province-Wide Minimum Social Security Coverage for the Elderly. All the poor elderly who meet certain conditions will be covered by the urban and rural minimum living security under the Shandong Provincial Government’s newly launched "12th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Shandong's Undertakings for the Aged". The coverage of Old Age Allowance will be extended to include those over 80 years old. General hospitals above county level established by the government will gradually offer outpatient service for aged patients and set up geriatric wards. It is predicted that by 2015, the number of the elderly over 60 in the province will reach 19.23 million and the proportion of the elderly will rise to 19.67%, making the problem of population aging is more serious than ever.
Source: Shandong Business Daily 08-12-2011
　　II. “High Welfare and Laziness, Root Causes of Poverty in Britain”, New Social Survey Reveals. The British are becoming increasingly reluctant to pay high taxes for the national health care, education or environment, and a growing number of British believe that high welfare and laziness are the causes of poverty, a recently released
British social survey suggests. Among the 3,297 respondents, 54% believe that the high level of social welfare has weakened people’s impetus for job search. When the survey was first conducted in 1983, however, this proportion was only 35%. 26% of British believe that poverty is caused by "laziness" and "lack of willpower', while, in the mid-1990s, this proportion was only 15%.
Source: Tencent Information 08-12-2011
　　III. China Unveils "Four Challenges" in Poverty Reduction and a “Five Points Plan” to Tackle Poverty. Fan Xiaojian, Director-General of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP) has revealed that modern China is facing "Four Challenges" in poverty alleviation and development and put forward a “Five points plan” to tackle poverty alleviation in the new age. The "Four challenges" include: A larger proportion of poverty alleviation targets controversial issues remaining in “special poverty”; the problem of poverty-returning, and problem in relative poverty. According to Fan Xiaojian, to achieve poverty alleviation in the new stage, China must pay attention to "five points", namely: Planning, giving play to our advantages, nurturing the development potential, paying attention to the poverty alleviation targets and constant reform and innovation.
Source: Chinese Central Government's Official Web Portal 09-12-2012
　　IV. Millions of Tibetans Rural Farmers Increasingly Lifted out of Poverty under Chinese Government’s Nationwide Poverty Reduction Program. Tibet’s increased efforts in achieving poverty alleviation and development, with strong support from the central government and the help of other provinces and municipalities are bearing fruits. The number of the poor farmers and herdsmen covered by the poverty reduction program with per capita net income below 1300 Yuan decreased from 1.48 million in 2001 to 168,000 in 2010 and more than 1.3 million farmers and herdsmen now live above the poverty line. During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, Tibet Autonomous Region’s Provincial Government will reportedly invest more than 300 million Yuan per year to lift 502,000 people and 122,000 low-income households out of poverty.
Source: Xinhuanet 09-12-2011
　　V. The "Shuangdao Poverty Alleviation" Scheme Lifts Many Households out of Poverty in Guangdong. A growing number of poor households in Guangdong are now increasingly living comfortably, thanks to the "Shuangdao Poverty Alleviation" scheme characterized by"planning for each household with responsibility undertaken by specific individuals". By the end of this year, the provincial poverty alleviation office reportedly expects the per capita annual income of the province’s 370,000 poor households to rise by 1916 Yuan over 2009, with an increase of 121%, and 85% of them will shake off poverty and live above the poverty line. Currently, the province has issued an anti-poverty fund worth 9.5 billion Yuan and implemented 13,400 collective economic projects, 9400 of which are agricultural development projects.
Source: Sohu News 10-12-2011
　　VI. Unemployment Is the World's Fastest-rising Worry, a BBC World Service Survey Covering 11,000 People in 23 Countries Suggests. Unemployment has joined corruption and poverty among the world’s most talked-about global issues, according to a new poll for the BBC across 23 countries.The 11,293 people surveyed for the annual World Speaks poll by GlobeScan between July and September were asked to say which of a range of global issues they had talked about with friends and family over the past month. On average across the countries polled, nearly a quarter (24%) say they have discussed corruption over that period. Extreme poverty (20%), unemployment (18%),
and the rising cost of food and energy (17%) are the next most frequently discussed problems. Unemployment is talked about by six times as many people as in 2009, the first year the study was conducted. In the 19 countries tracked over this period, the number saying they have discussed unemployment in the past month has risen from just 3 per cent in 2009 to 15 per cent in 2010 and 18 per cent this year.
Source: BBC/GloScan.com/China News 12-12-2011
　　VII. “15 million People Still Live in Abject Poverty in Yunnan” – Yunnan Provincial Government Officials. Attending a Workshop Conference for Regional Development and Poverty Alleviation Planning of Contiguous Poor Areas recently, relevant Yunnan Provincial Government officials said that there are still about 15 million poor people in the province according to the poverty line of 2300 Yuan and deep poverty is still the bottleneck of the province’s poverty alleviation work. In addition, 1.475 million people in contiguous poor areas still live in deep poverty, accounting for 92% of the poor in deep poverty in the province. A number of resolutions were outlined as follows: During the development planning process, the relevant departments at all levels must further stress the key points in the selection of regions and projects, concentrate on and give priority to selected projects, development plan must target the real poor and select good poverty alleviation projects to ensure that the antipoverty funds will be used effectively.
Source: Life News 13-12-2011

No.35(14 - 20 December, 2011)

　　I. More Deaf Children to Benefit from Chinese Central Government Funded Cochlear Implants from 2012 to 2015. The Chinese Central Government recently announced that, from 2012 to 2015, it will allocate special funds
to provide free cochlear implants for deaf children from 16,000 low-income families and issue postoperative rehabilitation funds. This new project will further increase the number of beneficiaries. From 2009 to 2011, the central government allocated special funds to implement the "China Disabled Persons' Federation for Poor Deaf Children’s Cochlear Rescuing Project", which provided free cochlear implants for 1500 poor deaf children in addition to providing them with post-operative rehabilitation grants. Right now, the three-year project task has successfully been completed.
Source: Tencent Information 14-12-2011
　　II. Youth Unemployment Rate Soars Up in the Caribbean and Latin America. The International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s Limabased Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean released a report which shows that the current youth employment situation there is grim, estimating youth unemployment rate up to 14.4%. The report notes that Latin America and the Caribbean have avoided the huge impact of the international financial crisis and created more job opportunities thanks to a robust economy, but the unemployed people still amount to 200 million, and the youth unemployment rate is twice the overall unemployment rate.
Source: Netease News 14-12-2011
　　III. “Three Able Men to Help One Poor Family”Scheme Is Proving to Be A New Innovative Way to Lift Poor Households out of Poverty. Setting up a mechanism for “Three Able Men to Help One Poor Family” is proving to be a new innovative way to lift poor households out of poverty since it has been explored by Zhong Village, Keke Town, Wulan County of Qinghai Province. The mechanism entails making three “able men” with a certain economic conditions help one poor family. Both the village committee and the party committee decided in 2010 to give the scheme a try, and subsequently set up the "Economic Association for Capable Brains of Zhong Village" made up of 30 well to do village association members with a certain economic asset base to help poor households.
Source: Qinghai News Network 15-12-2011
　　IV. Ningxia and Chengdu Cities Fast Implementing Central Government’s Rural Housing Security System Policy to Provide Thousands of Poor Farmers with Adequate Housing. In order to solve the chronic housing problem encountered by the poorest farmers living in the most unsafe housing conditions, Gushan District, Xihai of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, one of the well-known poverty-stricken areas in China, this year implemented the rural housing security system fully subsidized by the government. In the next five years, Ningxia plans to solve the housing problem faced by 15,000 extremely poor farmers with no means to build houses. Similarly, in March, Chengdu City of Sichuan Province also launched its own rural housing security system through issuing rental subsidies and the implementation of building material distribution and lease, aiming to provide adequate housing for 6 million farmers.
Source: China Economic Net 20-12-2011
　　V. Jiangxi Province Has Attracted 68.37 Million Yuan Worth of Foreign Anti-Poverty Funds in Total. Since the end of the "11th Five- Year Plan" period which started in 2003, Jiangxi Province has attracted 68.37 million Yuan worth of foreign anti-poverty funds in total. Thanks to foreign exchange and cooperation, Jiangxi increased its investment in poverty alleviation and foreignfunded development projects in trial areas, making direct contributions to poverty reduction there.The foreign direct anti-poverty funds were reportedly mainly spent on monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of foreign funded poverty alleviation and development projects in reducing poverty in China from a political, social and environment perspective.
Source: Xinhuanet 20-12-2011
　　VI. The New Poverty Threshold Better Uncovers the Poverty Situation in Guizhou Province Previously. There were about 17.64 million poor people in Guizhou Province, four times the figure (4.18 million) based on the former poverty line of 1196 Yuan, the new estimates in accordance with the new poverty line of 2300 Yuan raised by the Chinese Government in 2010 show. The incidence of poverty in Guizhou ranked first in the country. Among the 88 counties in the province, 55 are the ones targeted by the national poverty reduction and development programme. In
2010, Guizhou’s GDP was 459.4 billion Yuan, only accounting for 1.15% of China’s GDP; its rural per capita net income was 3472 Yuan, equivalently only to 58.7% of the national average; and the welloff proportion was 59.4%, 17.7 percentage points below the national average.
Source: China News 20-12-2011
　　VII. “Increase Investment in Social Security”- UN Report. In its newly released research report titled "The bottom line of social security, for equal inclusive globalization", the United Nations recently called on governments to increase investment in social security in the context of global economic crisis. According to the report, the global welfare obviously lags behind the economic development. Currently, about 2.6 billion people in the world cannot enjoy health care services, 884 million people lack drinking water, 1.4 billion people have daily income of less than $ 1.25, 925 million people are chronically hungry and averagely 9 million children under five die of completely preventable diseases per year.
Source: Sohu News 20-12-2011

No.36(21 - 27 December, 2011)

　　I. Russia and ESCAP Ink a New Extended Partnership Deal. The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has signed a letter of intent with Russia in order to expand their partnership. Under the agreement, both sides decided to jointly address the social and economic challenges in Asia-Pacific region. This year and next year, Russia will donate $ 1.2 million per year to ESCAP to support the development projects in Asia-Pacific region, including transportation, energy, environment and social poverty reduction, information and communication technology as well as statistical projects.
Source: United Nations News Centre 21-12-2011
　　II. Chinese Government's Spending on "Three Rural Issues", to Reach 1.04086 Trillion Yuan in 2011. Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren recently revealed the Central Government’s 2011 spending on the highlighted the "Three Rural Issues", namely agriculture, rural areas and peasants, is expected to reach 1.04086 trillion Yuan, a 21.3% increase, and pledging increasing financial support for agriculture. Preliminary estimates indicate that in 2011, the Central Government’s integrated anti-poverty funds - 22.72 billion Yuan or so - will directly benefit poor farmers in rural povertystricken areas, covering seven areas, including financial anti-poverty funds, rural subsistence
allowances and other policies to guarantee people’s livelihood and support agricultural production.
Source: China News 25-12-2011
　　III. Since It Carried out Public Welfare Activities, Hebei Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese Has Received a Total of 227 Million Yuan of Donations over the last decade from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots as well as other compatriots at home and abroad. It is reported that the donations are used to build 14 overseas Chinese schools and two middle schools. 99.85 million Yuan was invested in renovation of school buildings and 6.04 million Yuan was used as scholarship for students. In addition, since the implementation of Pearl Retrieval Program in Hebei Province in August 2007, Love Throughout Education Foundation sponsored by famous Taiwanese Wang Chien-shien has opened 24 "Pearl Classes" in 7 schools in Handan, Shijiazhuang, Cangzhou, Tangshan, Chengde and Zhangjiakou of the province and provided subsidies for 1232 "Pearl Students" with donation of 9.24 million Yuan.
Source: People's Daily Online 26-12-2011
　　IV. World Bank Assistance to Pakistan Will Focus on Economic Recovery and Sustainable Development - WB Report. The World Bank is to carry out a mid-term review and assessment on its assistance program in Pakistan, a new World Bank "Country Partnership Strategy Progress Report" published on 22 December 201, stated. The report noted that the Bank's assistance in Pakistan will focus on the country’s economic recovery to promote sustainable development and keep consistent with the Pakistan’s growth strategy framework. Meanwhile, the World Bank will give priority to economic management, human development and social protection, infrastructure construction and reducing the risk of conflict.
Source: Sina News 26-12-2011
　　V. Shandong Provincial Government IntroducesNew "Regulations on Preferential Treatment for the Elderly in Shandong Province", Effective from 1 January 2012.The new "Regulations on Preferential Treatment for the Elderly in Shandong Province" has recently been approved by the 112th executive meeting of the provincial government and will be put into effect on 1 January 2012. The new policy will benefit the province's 14 million elderly people. The longevity allowance for the elderly over 100 years old will be no less than 300 Yuan per person per month. In addition, elderly widows and widowers, poor elderly people who cannot take care of themselves or have only semi-self-care ability and empty nest elderly over 80 can apply for government’s pension service.
Source: People's Daily Online 26-12-2011
　　VI. Abject Poverty Threat Looming for 12 Million German People, Accounting for 14.5% of the Total Population - German Equality Welfare Association Report. The German Equality Welfare Association has warned that 12 million German people are threatened by poverty, accounting for 14.5% of the total population, with the situation in West Germany being especially grim, adding that the Ruhr area will probably become a "powder keg", posing the risk of social unrest. The German Equality Welfare Association said that over the past few years, the German economy has dramatically contracted (by over 5 per cent), experiencing a rather slow or contrarian growth as a result of the international financial crisis and the European debt crisis. The Association notes that although there is a substantial decline in the number of the unemployed, the problem of poverty has not been solved and a large number of people are still threatened by poverty. The so-called"threatened people" refer to whole families whose income is less than 60% of the average. In 2010, the poverty line for the single-person family was 826 Euro (a month) and the poverty line for the family with two adults and two children under 14 was 1735 Euro.
Source: Sina News 27-12-2011
　　VII. China Charities Aid Foundation for Children (CCAFC) Earmarks 20 Million Yuan to Subsidize Child Aid Activities in Povertystricken Areas. During an interview-debate meeting recently held in Bejing by China Charities Aid Foundation for Children (CCAFC), the "Tong Yuan" No. 2 batch of aided projects were examined and assessed in order to finally determine the child aid projects carried out by about 50 social public welfare organizations and how to fund them in order to enable them to carry out child aid activities in poverty-stricken areas, covering children's survival, growth, health care, psychological development and skills. Funds for the projects will be raised through CCAFC and awarded to local charity aid agencies in various regions to carry out aid activities. The agencies will follow funding
application procedures.
Source: Phoenix Information 27-12-2011