The committee that runs China’s National Patriotic Health Campaign convened to discuss their work this year and for a national urban and rural environmental sanitation meeting, in the city of Ma'anshan, Anhui province, on March 24 with a minister from the commission, Li Bin, and a vice-minister, Wang Guoqiang, taking part by addressing the gathering.

Li described how units taking part in the campaign across China have followed Party Central Committee and State Council decisions made in 2014, with priority given to a patriotic health approach and have achieved a lot, then added that 2015 is an important year for China's reforms overall and asked everyone to become familiar with the State Council's instructions for a new round of urban and rural environmental hygiene work.

She told people to focus on rural garbage and sewage treatment, toilet changes, and cleaning up dirty urban spots for a better urban environment. People are also being asked to push for more sanitation-conscious cities and towns, better sanitation evaluations, more standardized, scientific management, and stronger supervision. She also asked for healthier urban development, better public health policies, and success in the 27th patriotic health program for April, as well as greater infectious disease prevention and controls in the summer to avoid epidemic outbreaks.

The meeting also had an awards session for sanitation work by cities, regions, collectives and individuals in disease prevention and control for the 2012 - 2014 period. Taking part were Zhan Xialai, executive vice-governor of Anhui, Tang Kai, chief planner at the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ministry, and Sun Xianze, of the China Food and Drug Administration.