NGOs win bid for poverty relief By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily) Updated: 2006-02-22 05:57
Six non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are the first in China to receive
State funding for poverty relief.
Empowered by the Chinese Government, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation
announced yesterday the names of the six NGOs that won a bid totalling 11
million yuan (US$1.36 million).
They will be involved in an experimental programme for poverty relief in East
China's Jiangxi Province.
"It's a milestone event in China," said Tang Min, a chief economist with the
Beijing office of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at a press conference
yesterday.
Superficially, he said, the government granted the poverty relief funds to
unofficial organizations, but in reality it is a way for the government to shift
part of its role.
"It is getting free from tedious affairs in order to serve more as a body
that conducts guidance and supervision," Tang said.
China earmarks more than 30 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) every year to help
the poor, but traditionally the government acts independently in poverty
alleviation initiatives, which means that often the money is not used to its
optimal efficiency.
According to Kang Xiaoguang, an NGO researcher with the Chinese Academy of
Sciences, the poverty-stricken people in villages, who normally account for 10
to 20 per cent of the village population, cannot usually be elected to the
village boards who decide on how to use funds. As a result, they do not benefit
because no one speaks on their behalf.
NGOs could play a very different role in helping the poor.
According to Wu Zhong, Director General of the Foreign Capital Project
Management Centre of the State Council's Leading Group for Poverty Alleviation
and Development, unofficial organizations are closer to people in need and know
them better than the government.
According to He Daofeng, vice-chairman of the China Foundation for Poverty
Alleviation, the nation has about 200,000 NGOs. Wthout government funding, a
non-governmental body could only receive an average of 70,000 yuan (US$8,600) a
year mainly through donations.
"The lack of funds and manpower are to blame for the sluggish growth of
Chinese NGOs," Tang said. "But if the experiment succeeds, there will be a brand
new area for these public welfare organizations."
The six NGOs selected include the US-funded Heifer Project International,
China Association for NGO Co-operation and four other local organizations.
The selection of the second team of NGOs for poverty relief in a further 16
designated villages is scheduled for June.
(China Daily 02/22/2006 page2)
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