China ramps up aged care meal services

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said that the number of aged care meal assistance centers nationwide reached 75,000 in 2024. In 2025, the country intends to introduce a professional qualification framework for aged care workers to enhance the skills of those working in the sector.

At a national conference on civil affairs held in Beijing from Monday to Tuesday, Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan said that in 2024, notable advancements were achieved in aged care services and welfare. The central government allocated 300 million yuan ($41.1 million) in allocated funds to support the development of senior meal assistance programs in various regions.

Developing aged care meal assistance services is a key element of China's strategy to actively address population aging. It is also a major public welfare project aimed at supporting home- and community-based aged care and improving the wellbeing of elderly adults. 

In October 2023, the MCA and 11 other departments jointly issued an action plan to promote the development of meal services for seniors. Since the issuance of this action plan, the MCA has provided guidance to local civil affairs departments to refine policies based on local conditions, explore effective models for meal assistance, and consistently enhance service coverage and quality.

Lu said that as of the end of October 2024, there were 75,000 aged care meal assistance centers nationwide. Provinces such as Hebei, Zhejiang, and Shandong each had over 6,000 centers, greatly improving access to meal assistance services for seniors.

Lu also said that nationwide civil affairs departments had initiated measures to enhance fundamental home- and community-based aged care services. These efforts included the construction of 358,000 family aged care beds and the provision of 668,000 in-home care services.

By the end of October 2024, the number of aged care institutions and facilities had grown to 404,000, with nursing care beds accounting for 62.2 percent of the total, surpassing the targets outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). 

Looking ahead to 2025, Lu said that the MCA will promote legislative advancements in aged care services, refine the spatial distribution of aged care facilities, and strengthen the three-tier aged care service network at the county (district), township (subdistrict), and village (community) levels. 

Efforts will also prioritize the sustainable and robust growth of aged care meal assistance services by formulating supportive policies, fostering large-scale, chain-operated, and branded aged care service providers, and expanding the supply of affordable aged care services, said Lu.

Additionally, the MCA plans to bolster the professional workforce in aged care, implement the aged care professional qualification system, and reinforce discipline, behavior standards, and ethical practices among aged care workers.

Efforts will also expedite the creation of mechanisms to execute the national strategy for addressing population aging, and deepen the reform and development of aged care in the new era. These initiatives aim to ensure the well-being, societal contribution, and rights of senior citizens are fully safeguarded, Lu said.

China is stepping up aged care initiatives as the country addresses the complexities of an aging population. Official statistics show that 297 million Chinese people were aged 60 or above by the end of 2023, accounting for 21.1 percent of the total population, according to Xinhua News Agency. 

The conference also said that the MCA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, provided one-time living allowances to certain disadvantaged groups, according to CCTV News.

As of the end of October 2024, aid was delivered 709,000 times to homeless, vagrant, and other temporarily distressed individuals. A three-year initiative to improve the quality of care services for left-behind and disadvantaged children in rural areas, as well as a care and protection program for migrant children, has been launched. 

As of the end of November 2024, the two subsidy programs for persons with disabilities benefited 11.93 million disadvantaged individuals with disabilities and 16.19 million people with severe disabilities.