80,000 orphans get free insurance in China

Beijing: About 80,000 orphans were given free insurance contracts on Friday to cover the costs of treating 12 critical illnesses, an official said.

The foundation launched the joint program in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 2009 to provide free insurance for the children of poor families and 7,12,000 orphans under the age of 18 who are registered with it.

“We have distributed about 7,50,000 insurance contracts to children in more than 20 provincial regions, including the quake-hit province of Sichuan and the plateau areas of Qinghai and Tibet,” Hu said.