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 percent 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 Cooperation 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 February 22, 2006)