Training details released for long-term caregivers

The National Healthcare Security Administration, in collaboration with six other central departments, issued a notice on Thursday outlining the requirements of providing training for long-term care practitioners, in a significant move to enhance the professionalization and vocational development of the occupation.

Long-term care practitioners are caregivers who possess basic life care and nursing knowledge and skills, and provide life care and healthcare services to individuals at places such as homes, communities, elderly care institutions and healthcare facilities.

The notice said that any individual aged 16 and above residing in China, who is in good physical and mental health and meets the criteria for long-term care services, is eligible to enroll in the training program.

Training institutions are required to design programs in alignment with the national professional standard established last year, as well as relevant national policies on long-term care insurance systems.

The curriculum will be tiered, progressing from basic to advanced skills, and categorized into five levels. It will be delivered through a combination of theoretical courses and practical exercises, both online and offline, to effectively enhance participants' skills.

Statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed that by the end of 2022, there were 387,000 elderly care institutions and facilities of various types across the country.

47 billion yuan allocated for water conservancy

The Ministry of Finance said on Thursday that it has allocated 47.1 billion yuan ($6.54 billion) to support water conservancy projects across the country, including those to enhance flood and drought prevention.

Of the total, 22.1 billion yuan will be used to support the management of small and medium-sized rivers with a basin area of 200 to 3,000 square kilometers, the treatment of flood control channels, and the maintenance of water conservancy projects, according to the ministry.

A total of 9.8 billion yuan will be allocated to support rural water supply and agricultural water conservation projects.

Some 15.2 billion yuan will be used for projects including lake and river management and soil and water conservation, according to the ministry.

'Most rigorous' food safety standards pledged

China has issued 1,660 national food safety standards covering more than 340 categories of everyday food items, as the country works to ensure that food safety is rigorously maintained across the supply chain, from farm to table, according to the National Health Commission.

Speaking at a conference on Thursday, Gong Guoqiang, an official from the commission, said its commitment to developing the "most rigorous standards" system aims to create a food safety monitoring and evaluation framework that is both precise and efficient, thus ensuring scientific and authoritative assessments.

Hao Minghong, from the State Administration for Market Regulation, reiterated the administration's adherence to "the strictest standards, the most stringent regulation, the harshest penalties and the most serious accountability".

This approach aims to enhance regulatory capabilities across the entire food safety chain so as to safeguard the "safety on the tip of the tongue" for the Chinese people, Hao said.

Li Jiajian, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said the ministry prioritized the empowerment of technological innovation in terms of ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural products. Such efforts include speeding up the research, development and application of new technologies and equipment for monitoring and testing, Li said.