THE STATE COUNCIL, China's Cabinet, recently issued guidelines on care services for the elderly. Based on the needs of senior citizens, the document sets out principles for the eldercare industry, as well as the welfare the elderly should enjoy, ranging from basic services, public facilities, to health and cultural services. Beijing Youth Daily comments: By the end of 2015, China's empty nest elderly exceeded 110 million people, and by 2050 the total number of the elderly in the country is expected to reach 500 million, close to the total population of all the countries in Europe.
Catering to an ever increasing health demands of the well-off residents in the capital of Beijing, the Beijing Eden Hospital has launched a high-end family high-end doctor program highlighting the idea of disease prevention and health preservation.
It is reported that the morbidity of congenital hearing impairment in Chinese newborns is 1‰ to 3‰. As they grow older, chances of getting permanent hearing impairment are even larger with the incidence rate growing up to 2.7 ‰ before five years old and to 3.5 ‰ in adolescence. The morbidity in the aged is as high as 73.58%. At present, there are 137,000 children from 0 to 6 years old suffering from hearing impairment and every year sees more than 30,000 new cases added to the group. Rehabilitation for deaf children has been included to the national rescue work plan. As revealed by statistics of the WHO, over 60% of children hearing impairment can be avoided. Thus, diagnosis, intervention, and rehabilitation at an early stage appear fairly important.
The 27th National Day for Helping the Disabled on Sunday draws attention to the well-being of those living with disabilities. A reading party was held at the Capital Library of China in Beijing on Saturday afternoon. Some 30 volunteers took turns reading excerpts out loud from "How The Steel Was Tempered," sharing the classic with listeners who are visually impaired.
