A GOVERNMENT-BACKED program to care for senior citizens will be implemented across Qingdao in 2011, a news conference was told Nov. 12.

    More than 10,000 seniors in poverty will be covered by the program by 2012. They will be provided with free housekeeping and other services.

    The Qingdao government has spent 36 million yuan (US$5.37 million) providing care services for the group since 2006.

    Housekeeping, rehabilitation and mental health services have been offered on a daily basis to about 5,400 seniors who have no source of income or are from low-income families.

    A call service connected to a call center has been installed for seniors living alone in Shibei District, which is providing housekeeping and counseling services. Seniors get help with meals, bathing, and laundry.

    Pilot plans for seniors in rural areas were implemented in Laixi and Chengyang districts. All 230 communities in Chengyang have set up senior service centers to help care for 410 seniors above the age of 70.

    The city’s Civil Affairs Bureau pledged that the government would try to provide home services for all senior citizens in the future, free to the needy, low-cost and market price for the rest. Another goal is to offer the same services to rural citizens.

    There are 1.318 million people above the age of 60, accounting for 17.29 percent of the city’s population and 4.79 percent more than the national average. The population of 80-year-olds or above is 230,000, 6.08 percent more than the national average. (Chen Ting)