Shenzhen presently has 1 million residents under the age of 18, but only 19,000 of them, children of civil servants* or employees of institutions attached to the city government, are covered by medical insurance.

“For children who suffer from chronic* and serious diseases, there is no future, because few families can afford the huge cost of medical fees without help from medical insurance. This is not about offering them education or a colorful life, this is about giving them the chance to survive*,” Su Zhensheng, a member of the CPPCC Shenzhen committee, was quoted by media reports as saying.

Su has proposed* the city government formulate* a regulation under which all local children will be covered by the medical insurance system.

“Shenzhen began research on this issue as early as 2002, and the draft* regulation was submitted* to the municipal government early last year. The government has organized two discussions on the regulation but children suffering from leukemia* are still waiting,” the adviser said.

All 1 million minors*, including the children of migrants, will have their hospital costs covered, according to the draft regulation. The city government, the children’s families and the parents’ employers will share the medical expenses.

As many as 400,000 children under 5 die of diseases each year in China, Su said, and the figure could drop to 160,000 if they received timely treatment.

Mainland cities like Suzhou and Shanghai have introduced medical coverage for children. In Suzhou, children diagnosed* with serious diseases receive subsidies* from the city’s insurance fund.

In Shanghai, a set of regulations took effect last September covering the medical fees for babies, kindergarten, primary school and high school students.