United Nations Radio

Health care, education and access to safe water are just a few of the basic services China's latest Human Development Report says are needed to avoid what it calls "a poverty trap".

The report urges institutional and policy reforms to enable China to provide all its 1.3 billion people with access to improved health services, education, social security and public employment services.

Commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme, and produced by the China Institute for Reform and Development, the report offers nine specific policy recommendations to help China reduce gaps in basic public services and improve the lives of rural and other vulnerable populations.

UNDP Resident Coordinator, Khalid Malik, says the report acknowledges the huge strides China has made over the last 30 years, including lifting some 500 million people out of poverty and increasing literacy and life expectancy, but also notes the challenges brought about by rapid economic growth.

"Foremost, of course, is environmental sustainability; development gaps have also emerged. If you compare incomes with rural and urban areas, China was among the most unequal society in the world."

At the center of the policy recommendations, which include fiscal reform and holding provincial and local authorities accountable, the report notes, is the right of all Chinese citizens to a clearly defined set of basic public services.

Diane Bailey, United Nations.

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