Group seeks moral support, money for people who have lost their only child

The China Family Planning Association will work with the country's health authorities to provide both moral support and financial aid for parents who have lost their only child or whose only child is severely disabled.

In a national council held on Thursday, the association - a nonprofit organization that advocates family planning policies and reproductive health - said it has invested 10.7 million yuan ($1.6 million) to launch programs in 82 cities across the country that provide psychological relief and insurance services to families in such circumstances.

"Eighteen areas, including the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Sichuan, Yunnan and Hunan provinces, have implemented hospitalization insurance that covers more than 400,000 families who lost their only child," Yao Ying, deputy head of the association said at the gathering.