In 2004, the UN system in China celebrated the 25th anniversary of UN work and presence in China. It was a time to look back proudly over past successes and to reflect on the challenges that lie ahead. It was also an opportunity to rethink directions that the UN system follows in China. This website describes common goals, priorities and approaches that shape the work of the UN Country Team. In the last few years, China has increasingly shown its keenness to raise its international p...

We will have time to reach the Millennium Development Goals – worldwide and in most, or even all, individual countries – but only if we break with business as usual. We cannot win overnight. Success will require sustained action across the entire decade between now and the deadline. It takes time to train the teachers, nurses and engineers; to build the roads, schools and hospitals; to grow the small and large businesses able to create the jobs and income needed. So we must start now. ...

One of the clearest similarities between the Xiaokang concept and the Millennium Development Goals is their shared focus on reducing poverty and inequality. Although China is already comfortably beyond its Millennium Development Goal target of halving the number of poor from 1990 levels, the pace of poverty reduction is slowing. Poverty is taking on new forms, and the UN Common Country Assessment highlights the deeper structural and socio-cultural inequities that need to be confronted in o...

According to the 11th Five Year Plan, the Chinese government intends to continue its work on making nine year compulsory education universal to all children in line with the six goals set by Education for All. The government aims to eliminate illiteracy among young and middle-aged adults in the western region and ensure the plan's target is met by 2007. In assisting the Government achieving this ambitious goal, the UN Country Team brings with it a wealth of experience in education sectors ar...

A vital step towards the Xiaokang vision of a society in which wealth is spread out among all the country's people is to provide opportunities for everyone to earn a living wage in good working conditions. New graduates, migrants leaving their farms for the cities, laid-off workers from restructured state-owned enterprises and many others are lining up to take their place in China's new economy. China's businesses and industries are adopting cutting-edge, labour-efficient technologies and wo...

Overall, people in China are living longer and healthier lives. Yet inequalities in access to quality health services and disparities in health outcomes remain. With spiralling costs, large numbers of people simply cannot afford health care when they need it. Furthermore, public health services provide low coverage because of under- funding. The links between public health, poverty and the current patterns of China's development show a clear need for coordinated and urgent action. ...

To reflect the unprecedented nature of the threat from Avian Influenza and the multi-sectoral response needed to combat the virus in animals and humans, UN agencies in China collaborate to provide joint and complementary expertise under the UN Resident Coordinator in China. A UN Partners Group for Avian Influenza has been set up consisting of key UN agencies, and major international donors. The core members of the group include FAO, WHO, UNDP, UNICEF, and the RC Office. Other partners includ...

The threat of a spreading HIV/AIDS epidemic, with its complex social and economic ramifications, demands a coordinated and many-sided response. Although the HIV infection rate in China is currently low, combating it is still an urgent priority. Infections are concentrated in certain areas and among certain populations, and there is a real danger of the epidemic entering the general population. The absolute numbers of people infected and affected are high, requiring both medical and social...

Social protection is a growing concern in modern China. The rapid transformation of the Chinese economy and society has brought many benefits for China's people, but it has also seen the disappearance of many social safety nets and supportive institutions. Vulnerability and disadvantage have taken on new forms and new faces. Social security schemes are especially sparse in the rural areas and highly variable in their coverage and benefits from one locality to another. Massive migration, une...

China's current drive for economic development has come with a heavy environmental price tag. Resources are being consumed at a rapid pace, and industrial pollution now poses a serious health hazard for many people. At the same time, biodiversity and farmland, which support large portions of the populations in the western regions, are being lost due to deforestation and soil erosion. Concerted efforts will be needed for China to achieve Millennium Development Goal 7 on environmental sustain...

Promoting gender equality, one of the core values of the United Nations, is a goal shared by all members of the UN Country Team and is a principle that is, as far as possible, reflected in all its plans and programmes. The team's work on gender builds on the solid foundations laid by the Beijing Platform for Action and the recommendations of the Beijing+10 Forum, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Plan of Action, the Convention for Elimination of All Forms...

One of the most far-reaching results of China's opening-up policies in recent decades has been its readiness to adopt international conventions and norms. Landmarks for UN cooperation in China and for the country's development since the 1980s have included ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention against Racial Discrimination, the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the ...

China's rising profile in international and regional affairs is a welcome development. As the world's most populous country and a leading economic power, China has a natural place at the heart of global dialogue and cooperation. The UN Country Team is assisting China in its growing engagement with the international community. A top priority in this context is strengthening China's multilateralism, not just through the ratification of international norms and UN conventions, but also through ...

The China United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) is established within the framework of the UN Resident Coordinator System to ensure effective and concerted UN emergency response, as well as assistance to the Chinese Government for preparedness, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and disaster mitigation. It is composed of representatives of all UN offices in China and supported by UNDP for administrative and logistic support. The UNDMT coordinates all disaster related activities,...