中国政府与联合国儿童基金会签定五年国别合作计划

联合国儿童基金会（UNICEF）和中国政府日前在北京签署了新一轮为期五年的《中国政府/联合国儿童基金会合作方案行动纲领（2011-2015年）》，旨在进一步改善中国儿童和妇女的状况。该计划的执行期限将持续到2015年，投入近8亿7100万元人民币用于为中国最需要帮助的儿童和妇女提供援助，缩小差距以及倡导平等权益等方面。

合作计划由商务部部长助理俞建华先生代表中国政府与联合国儿童基金会驻华代表魏英瑛博士于2011年2月23日共同签署。

该计划将重点关注弱势群体，包括农村流动儿童和留守儿童、少数民族儿童、生活在贫困边远地区的儿童等等，为他们努力争取平等均衡的发展机会。商务部负责全面协调联合国儿童基金会在中国项目的实施。

俞建华部长助理在签署《中国政府/联合国儿童基金会合作方案行动纲领（2011-2015年）》文本时表示：联合国儿童基金会是世界儿童福祉的倡导者，是儿童权益的守护者，是我们十分珍视的老朋友。中国政府赞赏30年来联合国儿童基金会对中国儿童的发展事业所做的重要贡献，愿通过新的合作方案继续加强并深化双方的合作关系。

联合国儿童基金会驻华代表魏英瑛博士表示：“我很荣幸和中国政府签署这份合作计划。在商务部的协调下，通过合作项目，我们帮助中国政府在保护儿童权益等方面取得了骄人的成绩，例如大规模免疫接种、显著降低母婴死亡率，以及最近建立的中国综合儿童福利体系和受艾滋病影响儿童的保护等。”

新的合作方案旨在改善儿童健康营养和儿童接受基本教育服务的状况以及保护妇女儿童免受艾滋病感染的侵害。进一步强化有关政策制定及执行机制，完善基于社区的儿童服务体系以及提升饮用水品质和环境卫生服务。

联合国儿童基金会将继续致力于在中国最贫困地区开展试点项目以探索模式，积累经验。创新性的工作模式和成功经验会被纳入国家政策和项目之中，惠及全中国的儿童。

尽管目前中国正稳步推进千年发展计划（MDGs）至2015年，在贫困的乡村仍有为数众多的妇女和儿童无法获得应有的帮助和服务。

在过去的30年间，中国经济经历了前所未有的快速增长，但经济发展仍不均衡。收入的城乡差别、地域差别在逐渐增大。估计在中国仍有超过一亿儿童的日均生活费用在两美元以下。官方统计显示中国最贫困地区的健康水平仍然与低收入国家近似。中国在五岁以下儿童死亡的绝对数字仍然排在世界前五位。

该合作方案行动纲领的签署是魏英瑛博士任期内重要成就之一。缅甸籍的魏英瑛博士自2006年起担任联合国儿童基金会驻华代表，并于本月底正式退休，离开了她挚爱的联合国儿童基金会。此前，她曾经负责督导该组织在西非、中东、东欧、东亚及太平洋地区的项目监督和实施等工作。

Government of China and UNICEF sign Five-Year Cooperation Plan

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Government of China signed a new five-year “Country Programme Action Plan” to improve the situation of children and women in China. The plan, which runs through 2015, will mobilize nearly RMB871 million to reduce disparities and promote equity for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and women.

The plan was signed by Assistant Minister Mr. Yu Jianhua of the Ministry of Commerce on behalf of the Government of China and Dr. Yin Yin Nwe, UNICEF Representative in China in February 23, 2011.

The plan will focus on vulnerable groups, including migrant children and children left behind in rural areas; ethnic minorities; children living in poor, rural and remote communities and others, in an effort to promote equitable and balanced development. The Ministry of Commerce is responsible for overall coordination of UNICEF's programmes in China.

"UNICEF is an advocate for children's welfare, a protector of children's rights and interests and a cherished old friend of China," said Mr. Yu Jianhua, Assistant Minister of Commerce. "The Chinese government appreciates the important contribution made by UNIECF over the past 30 years to the development of Chinese Children. China would like to further enhance and deepen cooperation with UNICEF through the new Programme of Cooperation."

"I am delighted to sign this new five-year action plan with the Government of China," said Dr. Yin Yin Nwe, UNICEF China Representative. "Under the coordination of the Ministry of Commerce, our joint programme has supported many of China's notable milestones for children, including expanded immunization, dramatic reduction of child and maternal mortality and more recently, development of China's comprehensive child welfare system as well as important gains for children affected by HIV-AIDS."

The new programme aims to improve the health and nutrition status of children, increase access to quality basic education services, protect women and children from the spread of HIV-AIDS, strengthen social policies and implementation mechanisms, improve access to community-based child protection services and upgrade drinking water quality and sanitation services.

UNICEF will continue to focus much of its support on introducing pilot projects in the poorest communities in China with a view to adapting approaches and documenting best practices. Experiences gained from innovative models and approaches will be scaled up by the Government of China as national programmes and policies to reach a very large cross-section of China's children.

Though China is well on track to achieve the overall Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, the absolute number of under-served children and women, mostly in poor rural areas, remains quite large.

Over the past 30 years, China has experienced unprecedented rates of economic growth, but development has been uneven. Income disparities between rural and urban residents and among different regions of the country have been rising, and it is estimated that more than 100 million Chinese children are still living on less than two dollars per day. Official statistics also show that the health outcomes in the poorest communities are similar to those in low-income countries. China is still among the top five countries in the world in terms of the absolute number of child deaths under the age of five.

The signing of the action plan is one of the last significant accomplishments of Dr. Yin Yin Nwe's tenure as UNICEF Representative in China. Dr Nwe, a native of Myanmar, began her term in China in late 2006. She will retire from UNICEF service at the end of the month following a long and distinguished career which included leadership roles in programme monitoring and implementation in West Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and East Asia and the Pacific.

(China.org.cn March 2, 2011)