NHFPC'S Press Conference on May 29

(en.nhfpc.gov.cn)

Updated: 2014-07-21

Q: Please brief us on the progress of women and children’s health in China, and what the country will do to continue its efforts.

A: Health of women and children is a basic indicator of human health that measures economic and social development and human progress. China has 880 million women and children, more than any country in the world, and their health has long been a top priority of the government. The country has made huge progress to boost healthcare services for them by setting up a system and improving laws and regulations.

In 2013, China’s maternal mortality rate dipped to 23.3 per 100,000, down 56.2 percent from 2000. Infant mortality rate stood at 9.5 per 1,000, down 70.5 percent from 2000, while the death rate of children under 5 years old was at 12 per 1,000, a decrease of 69.8 percent from 2000, meeting the Millennium Development Goals of the United States earlier than expected. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said China has successfully eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus.

China launched several programs in improving public healthcare services, including subsidies for rural women after giving birth, regular examinations for rural women to prevent cervical and breast cancers, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, syphilis and hepatitis B, and nutrition improvement for children in poor areas. Things improved remarkably after years of efforts. Recent data shows the mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission rate has dropped from 34.8 percent to 6.3 percent.

Birth defect rates had surged to 153.23 per 10,000 in 2011, up from 87.67 per 10,000 in 1996. But now the year-on-year rise has been contained thanks to a slew of government preventative measures that target newborns and pregnant women in the past few years. The national prevalence of birth defects decreased to 145.64 and 145.06 per 10,000 in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

It has been two decades since China enacted the Maternal and Infant Healthcare Law in 1994. This year, we will gear up to promote nationwide healthcare services for women and children, streamline healthcare institutions, improve healthcare education, encourage breast-feeding, and contain cesarean sections.

We will expand medical reforms that will benefit more people this year. Those programs I mentioned earlier will continue, so that more children in poor areas will enjoy better nutrition and be protected from thalassemia. In addition, more rural pregnant women will get subsidies and free cancer check-ups. Free and basic family planning technical services including education on contraception are expected to reach everyone in need. Hopefully more than 80 percent of women will get free pre-conception examinations by the end of this year.

The new two-child policy will pose challenges to healthcare services as more babies are expected to be born in the years to come. Therefore, we need to upgrade current healthcare facilities and at the same time set up new institutions in order to meet the growing demand. We will further enhance talent training to offer more quality healthcare services, and better manage high-risk cases for pregnant women and newborns, and postnatal care. Meanwhile, rescue centers for critically ill mothers and children will be set up as part of an efficient network for transfers and consultations in a bid to ensure the safety of mothers and children.