It was reported from the 4th National Women and Children Working Conference that in recent years China's sex ratio at birth kept expanding and the problem of children's deficiency at birth is evident and the number of AIDS orphans is increasing.

At present, China's children and teenagers under 18 years old amount to 367 million. The health difference between children in cities and those in towns and the regional health difference continue to intensify. Currently, in China's rural regions, mortality rate of babies and children under five is twice as much as that in cities. On the other hand, such mortality rate in remote areas is four times as much as that in coastal areas.

The latest "National Report on Chinese Children's Status of Development" issued by All-China Women's Federation revealed that at the moment a series of problems about the survival and development of Chinese children demand urgent solutions:

The issue of children's deficiency at birth is increasingly evident and number of AIDS orphans is on the rise. Discrimination against girls resulted in continual expansion of China's sex ratio at birth. Girls' enrolment rate and nutrition and health status are apparently inferior to boys'. The rights of children in difficult circumstance can not be protected effectively.

(CRI August 17, 2005)