It’s Back
The highly contagious Foot and Mouth disease is back and like last year, it’s been affecting kids in eastern and central China, including nine reported deaths in Shandong province. The virally borne symptoms include fever and sores and last year “affected around 25,000 people nationwide, killing at least 40.”
Healthcare for All
The State Council has announced its intentions to overhaul China’s ailing medical care system with a “USD-120-billion plus initial phase” that is intended to subsidize basic coverage to “90% or more of China’s 1.3 billion people within three years.” The goal is to allow basic coverage for all of China’s population by 2020 and decrease costs of “essential drugs” (i.e. widely prescribed antibiotics). The types of drugs that will be covered have yet to be determined, but one wonders if this is going to lead to even more drug resistant strains of viruses …
Home Alone
AFP reports about the phenomenon of migrant workers’ children who are left in their hometowns (usually in the care of their grandparents) while their parents earn a living in China’s big cities. Many are “many plagued by psychological problems stemming from the separation from their parents” with tendencies to be “spoiled and … vulnerable to violence.” The latest figures show that at least 58 million (and counting) kids are in this situation. One more reason to respect your ayi …
School’s In
The Times Online describes plans by British schools, including Brighton College and Wellington College, to expand into overseas markets, including Beijing. Wellington College has already announced plans to open a Beijing campus by 2011.
