A ceremony was held on Dec 21 as Jingeng Hospital in Ruzhou city, central China's Henan province, officially became a national designated hospital as part of the "Tomorrow Plan" of the Ministry of Civil Affairs which aims to provide surgical and rehabilitation services to disabled Chinese orphans.

Officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Henan Department of Civil Affairs and Fang Xiangli, deputy mayor of Ruzhou, attended the ceremony.

A total of over 1,000 abandoned children with cerebral palsy have been cared for at the hospital since 2009, with a treatment including Chinese medicine and rehabilitation exercises which has been widely praised by experts.

The Henan Civil Affairs Department.included Jingeng Hospital in the "Tomorrow Plan" as a designated hospital at the provincial level in October 2010.

And, following an assessment and evaluation by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the hospital was selected as one of the national designated hospitals of the plan – and it is the only hospital in the plan that has expertise in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of cerebral palsy.

The "Tomorrow Plan" is now a comprehensive medical assistance system that includes orthopaedic surgery, remote consultations and treatment of various serious medical conditions.

A total of 960 million yuan ($159.11 million) of public welfare funds from lottery sales has been allocated to the plan, which has benefitted 56,000 orphans from 1,109 welfare institutions.

Edited by Niva Whyman