Zhejiang calls for better infant care services in 2020

East China's Zhejiang Province has vowed to provide better infant care services in 2020 and prioritize care for children under three among its efforts to improve people's livelihood.

The province will build 200 care institutions for infants below three and raise the quota for nursery enrollment by 5,000, according to the government work report delivered Sunday at the annual session of the provincial people's congress.

Zhejiang piloted care services for children under three last year and implemented campus childcare at all primary schools, with the coverage rate of inclusive kindergartens reaching 90 percent, the work report said.

The eastern province released a guideline for accelerating the development of infant care at the beginning of this year, pledging to support qualified kindergartens to enroll children aged two or three.

While encouraging kindergartens to expand nursery services, Zhejiang will also help privately-owned kindergartens implement nursery classes.

Demand has grown for infant care services in China since the removal of the one-child policy, said Cao Qifeng, deputy director of the provincial health commission, stressing that various services are evolving to meet the demand.

The State Council issued a guideline in 2019 on the care of infants under three, urging support for various types of infant care facilities and encouraging employers to offer infant care services in the workplace.

Meanwhile, authorities will take measures to promote infant care facilities in communities, especially in crowded neighborhoods, according to the guideline. China will strengthen supervision over infant care service providers and will require professional qualifications for infant-care workers, it noted.