China is to use lottery funds to invest in mental health facilities.
China is to invest one billion yuan from lottery sales to build and repair mental health welfare facilities, according to plans rolled out at a video conference held on Wednesday.
The funds will be used to build 20 mental health welfare facilities over the next two years across the country. Each one will reportedly cost 30 million yuan (£2.83 million).
As well as retrofitting and expanding 20 existing facilities, each will also get 20million yuan (£1.88 million), according to the conference held by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.
Mental health welfare facilities offer services to mental health patients and the mentally challenged among society’s most disadvantaged groups, including low-income groups, the homeless, people without income or anyone to support them, and veterans.
There are currently 261 mental health welfare facilities with 74,000 beds in China, providing services to 60,000 people.
It is estimated that there will be over 10,000 new beds installed in two years as a result of the planned investment with welfare funds raised through the lottery.
According to official statistics, there are approximately 16 million severe mental health patients, 55% of whom belong to poor families, and over 60% are from rural areas.
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