A/HRC/45/14/Add.1 5. Adequate standards of living 82. The Independent Expert welcomes the State party’s achievements in significantly reducing poverty. She also commends its efforts to address old-age poverty, but stresses that more needs to be done to ensure that all older persons are financially secure in old age, whether they are in rural, urban and peri-urban areas. She encourages the Government to continue its poverty reduction programmes and to ensure the inclusion of human rights in its people-centred approach to development, leaving no one behind. She also calls for further action to ensure that older persons, in particular older women and older persons with disabilities, enjoy an adequate standard of living and have access to basic services, especially in rural areas. 6. Social protection and the right to social security 83. Recognizing the remarkable progress of China in substantially strengthening its social security and protection floor in an exceptionally short period of time, the Independent Expert encourages the Government to further develop and unify the oldage support system, notably the urban and rural schemes; to delay the formal retirement age; and to effect change, making it easier for the urban population to join the employment-based scheme and provide incentives for their participation in basic pension schemes. 84. The Independent Expert notes that the introduction of an unqualified universal non-contributory pension at adequate levels would significantly contribute to the financial autonomy of older persons. It would also have an important gender dimension, as women are particularly prone to poverty in old age. She encourages the Government to further consolidate the progress achieved and to address issues of adequacy, equality, portability and sustainability in a more systemic manner. 85. The Independent Expert stresses that the Hukou system remains a source of inequality and prevents many older persons in practice from claiming their social benefits. She calls on the Government to end this de facto discrimination and to ensure that older internal urban migrants enjoy the same social security, health and other benefits as long-time urban residents. 7. Care 86. The Independent Expert calls upon the Government to develop an overall strategic vision of long-term care as a matter of urgency, which should provide overall direction for further development of such services in a comprehensive manner. An essential element in this context is the provision of sufficient day-care centres with nursing services to meet the needs of older persons and their families, including the large number of them who are unable to afford private care without substantial government support. Market-based solutions can provide an important complement to the social provision of care. 87. She further encourages the Government to accelerate the building of a unified medical insurance system for urban and rural residents, addressing the lack of portability of benefits, low reimbursement rates and high medical expenses. 88. The Independent Expert stresses the need to ensure quality control in all settings, including through the establishment of monitoring mechanisms, in order to ensure adequate care for older persons and to enable violations of their rights to be addressed effectively. She also notes that the cornerstone of a well-functioning care system for older persons is a regulatory framework that governs the accreditation of suppliers, service standards and quality assurances, along with certification criteria for different types of professional caregivers. 89. With the increase in so-called empty-nest families, radically changed family structures continue to erode the existing family home-care system. The Independent Expert stresses that the Government needs to supplement, on a large scale, family and home care with formal long-term care so as to provide alternatives for older persons, in particular in rural areas. She further notes that the care burden falls 17