Govt Urged To Step Up Efforts To Tackle Child Poverty

A grassroots organisation on Sunday called on the government to beef up efforts to tackle child poverty, saying current anti-poverty measures are insufficient.

The Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) has put forward a raft of recommendations to address child poverty in the coming year, such as providing more affordable housing, online learning support and medical vouchers for children.

Announcing an annual report on children's welfare, SoCO's deputy director Sze Lai-shan said housing has been a top concern for almost a decade.

She said the group was concerned that the government had not put enough effort and policy measures in place to solve poverty and housing problems.

"Many of them are living in sub-divided flats or cubicles, and the living condition is very poor. So they request the government to increase the supply of public housing and social housing," she said.

Jimmy, a 14-year-old boy who lives in a cubicle with his family, said they had waited almost ten years for a public flat.

"Housing has been the most pressing issue for all Hong Kong residents over the past ten years. I think the government should build more public housing, and roll out short-term measures to improve people's living conditions as soon as possible," he said.

Last month, the government unveiled its first ever blueprint for youth development, with 160 initiatives to be introduced in the coming three years to nurture over two million patriotic young people.

But Sze called the youth blueprint "half-baked", saying it did not include enough measures to lift youngsters out of poverty.

"I think the youth blueprint is actually not that comprehensive, and just mentioned really little about the plight of the youth," she said. "Quite a lot of youth are living under poverty line. They do not have resources for education and development, so they should put a lot [more] emphasis on these kinds of welfare, and how to support these youth to develop themselves," she said.