Official: 2.1 million families benefit from barrier-free homes

More than 2.1 million people in China with disabilities have benefited from a nationwide program that aims to eradicate barriers in people's homes in the most recent five-year period, an official of the China Disabled Persons' Federation said on Wednesday.

The program - which helps families build facilities such as ramp ways and lower stoves, and install handrails, toilets and appliances with audio assistance - aims to help those with disabilities live relatively independent lives.

Zhou Jian, deputy director of the federation's rights department, said at a news conference that the effects of the program, financed by the central government's revenue from lottery, were obvious.

"Such programs promote the self-respects of the people with disabilities, improve the quality of their lives and liberate their families," he said, adding it helps such families battle poverty.

The deputy director noted that barrier-free facilities are the symbol of civilized society and are the first step for citizens with disabilities to engage with society.

Despite progress over the last five years, Zhou said an estimated 3.3 million poor with disabilities still need the modification works.

"We will strive for more financial support to raise the coverage of the program," he said.

China has pledged to eradicate extreme poverty domestically by the end of 2020. The country's poor population, which stood at more than 98 million at the end of 2012, was cut by two-thirds in the most recent five-year period.

A high percentage of the remaining impoverished have disabilities of various degrees. The central leadership has stressed that poor people with disabilities should not be left behind while working towar the zero poverty goal.