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Shanghai's elderly enjoy public, private care

By Jiang Xueqing (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-22 15:27

SHANGHAI - Zhang Juliang celebrated the Double Ninth Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday for the elderly, on Oct 15 with more than 20 other senior citizens at the Leling daycare center in Jiangning community of Shanghai's Jing'an District.

The 77-year-old retiree has been coming to the center every day since it opened in June 2009. He and other local residents over 60 are offered two meals, daily physical checks and various group activities including singing, dancing and movies.

"There's no one to take care of me when my children go to work during the day, and the center offers a solution," said Zhang. "I made a lot of friends here and no longer feel lonely."

The population of elderly people in Shanghai reached 3 million by 2009, and those aged 80 and older account for 17.8 percent of the total. The elderly population is expected to reach 5 million to 6 million by 2030, according to Shanghai-based Eastday.com.

As the most rapidly aging city in China, Shanghai took the initiative to integrate social forces into the service system for the elderly.

According to the latest field research in Shanghai on the practice of National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010), private enterprises and non-governmental organizations play a significant role in providing services to senior citizens under the leadership and guidance of local governments.

The Leling daycare center in Jiangning community outsources its meal service to a private company, which provides four dishes per meal for 8 yuan ($1.20). Purchased by the government, the service covers 500 senior residents in 19 communities nearby. About 170 of them have meals delivered to their homes every day.

About 7 percent of the elderly in Shanghai receive community support, according to Ni Hui, director of the Putuo District Civil Affairs Bureau in Shanghai. In Putuo District alone, elderly people accounted for 23.56 percent of the 860,000 residents with household registration in 2009.

Among the institutions providing elderly care services in the district, 45 percent are run by social organizations.

"The demands of the elderly are diversified, but the government can only take care of the most basics," Ni said. "With social forces acting as service providers and the government as planner and supervisor, senior citizens can receive much better and comprehensive services based on their everyday needs."