Cancer radiation treatments employing heavy-ion accelerators can bombard a target with high-energy electrons to kill cancer cells.

Xiao Guoqing, head of the Institute of Modern Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said it is widely considered the most effective way of fighting tumors.

Compared to traditional therapy such as radiation, heavy ion treatment is considered to have more balanced properties with less radiation on healthy cells. The treatment period is shorter and the therapy could more effectively control cancer cells.

The institute, based in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu province, developed the accelerators in 2015. It took two years for the accelerators to undergo medical equipment testing. Registration and testing were completed in April this year and clinical tests began.

Currently, the institute has produced two sets of the cancer treatment equipment, one each in Lanzhou and Wuwei city, which has a high rate of stomach cancer.

Patients were selected from Gansu Provincial Cancer Hospital and Wuwei Cancer Hospital. Testing is under way for cancer treatment for the head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis and limbs.

In order to ensure the safety of the tests, 36 leading doctors in cancer treatment were assigned to oversee the tests.

Xiao said the domestically developed equipment marks the end of China's dependence on imports. The institute started basic research into the technology in 1993.

Currently very few hospitals in China offer heavy ion cancer treatment in China. Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Center uses imported equipment from Germany for cancer treatment. There is a long wait for the treatment at the Shanghai hospital.

A report published by the National Cancer Center in 2017 showed that China has nearly 25 percent of the world's new cancer cases, with 10,000 cancer patients added per day. Every year, there are two million cancer-induced deaths. Lung, breast and stomach cancers are the most common types.

Shanghai's financial district, Lujiazui in Pudong, is seen at night on July 18, 2018. [Photo/IC]

Shanghai on Wednesday unveiled 100 public health measures aimed at building it into a world-class healthy city by 2030.

Increased resources will be allocated to prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases that affect residents' health and create obstacles to socioeconomic development, said Zong Ming, vice-mayor of Shanghai, during a media briefing.

"We aim that the ratio of cases diagnosed as early-stage cancer should reach no lower than 40 percent of all cases diagnosed as common cancers," she said.

Myopia among children and juveniles is another key issue addressed by the measures, which set a goal of an annual drop of at least 0.5 to 1 percentage point.

"Outdoor sports are an important way to control myopia among students. We require all the schools to guarantee outdoor sports for at least one hour for students of all age groups," said Ni Minjing, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.

The government will also build new and expand existing sports venues to further encourage residents' participation in sports.

The per-capita area of sport fields in Shanghai will reach 2.8 square meters in 2030, according to the measures.

Stricter supervision of illegal smoking will be conducted and smoking among adults is aimed to drop to 18 percent in 2030, compared with 19.9 percent in 2018 and 20.2 in the previous year, the measures said.

The measures also set out plans and targets for health knowledge, healthy diets, the promotion of psychological health, traditional Chinese medicine, and the use of information technology in health management.

Whenever the phrase "occupational disease" appears, people always think about the pneumoconiosis of miners or the leukaemia of indoor decoration workers.

That's because in the past less emphasis was placed on health and safety and workers doing hazardous jobs lacked proper protection. However, working conditions have been constantly improving and the number of people doing hazardous jobs has been falling. As a result, the number of people with occupational diseases such as pneumoconiosis or leukaemia has declined.

But new health problems have been afflicting office workers. It is easy to name some very common ones; as well as cervical spondylosis, office workers also suffer from high blood pressure and myopia, as well as stomach diseases because they eat too much fast food that contains too much oil, salt and sugar. Actually, people have long been joking that these diseases are occupational diseases even though they are not officially identified as such.

The experts' proposal this time echoes the call of the public, and we hope these calls will be heeded, because, if so, the State will invest more in the prevention and treatment of these occupational diseases, and workers who get these diseases will get better medical insurance policies.

Further, the list of occupational diseases should be routinely updated. Work conditions change as the nature of work changes. Updating the list of occupational diseases will ensure that the national medical resources are efficiently used.

"It was cold. I originally reached out with only one hand, with the other in my pocket. The general secretary, however, held my hand with both of his hands. So I quickly reached out with the other hand," Wei said, recalling the December 2014 visit Xi paid to the Shiye Township Clinic to learn about the rural area-based healthcare services.

During the winter afternoon stop there, Xi shook hands and chatted with Wei, who was seeking treatment at the clinic. "In addition to asking about our health, the general secretary also cared about whether the rural area-based medical services are accessible, affordable and satisfactory," Wei said.

"Prosperity for all is impossible without health for all," Xi said.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has made major decisions and plans to advance the building of a "Healthy China," from issuing the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint in 2016 to the promulgation of an action plan in July this year for implementing the Healthy China initiative from 2019 to 2030. In addition, there is a focus on solving problems regarding the accessibility and affordability of medical services and striving to ensure people's access to medical services.

With all that, a new picture of a "Healthy China" is being drawn up step by step.

IMPROVED ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE

People's access to medical services remains a deep concern of Xi.

Xi stressed the need to improve community-level healthcare services, promote equitable access to basic public services in urban and rural areas and provide safe, effective, convenient and affordable public health and basic healthcare services for the people.

Residents at Shiye, a hard-to-reach tiny island surrounded by the Yangtze River waters, used to be afraid of not only getting sick but also traveling out of the island because of poor traffic links with the outside.

Great changes have taken place here following Xi's 2014 inspection tour in the township. Now, people do not need to leave to seek treatment for minor diseases.

The past several years have seen the establishment of five joint departments, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus, by the Shiye Township Clinic and a Zhenjiang City-based healthcare services group. The clinic now has color ultrasound and automatic biochemical analysis equipment in addition to general departments.

"At the township clinic, people now can enjoy medical services offered by Zhenjiang City-based hospitals," Wei said. Wei had an X-ray recently at the clinic for his knee pain, of which the image was sent online to the Zhenjiang First People's Hospital before the diagnosis results were sent back in minutes. "You could hardly imagine this in the past," Wei said.

In Zhenjiang, community-level clinics and the city's prestigious hospitals have set up joint medical treatment mechanisms, allowing more people to access quality basic healthcare services near their homes.

What Wei experienced at the Shiye Township Clinic served as an embodiment of the improvement in the primary-level medical services network covering both the urban and rural areas of China.

STOPPING ILLNESS-CAUSED POVERTY

Located in the deep Lyuliang Mountains of Shanxi province, Kelan county is known for steep roads and barren farmland.

Wang Sannyu, a widow in her 60s, lives in Zhaojiawa village located in the impoverished county with her two grandchildren with disabilities.

She developed rheumatic heart disease and hypertension at an early age, which over the years have led to chronic bronchitis. The poor family's living conditions got worse when her husband and son died a few years ago and her daughter-in-law left.

On the afternoon of June 21, 2017, Xi walked into their home, gave Wang words of comfort and urged local officials to arrange special education for her grandchildren.

Tackling poverty caused by illness and the reoccurrence of poverty because of illness are objectives Xi has repeatedly stressed.

After the Kelan inspection tour, Xi presided over a seminar on eliminating poverty in severely impoverished areas in Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi, where he called for more medical assistance, temporary relief and charitable aid for people living in poverty caused by sickness.

Now, under a full village relocation program, Wang's family has moved into a new building, and family doctors are regularly visiting and delivering medicine to the door.

Last year, Wang was hospitalized twice with a total cost of 8,914.3 yuan (about $1,271), but she only had to pay 525.77 yuan herself.

Currently, people living in poverty could have over 90 percent of their hospital medical cost reimbursed under a package of insurance and aid policies, according to Kelan's healthcare security authority.

The package is a major livelihood project introduced in the province to alleviate poverty caused by illness after Xi's inspection in 2017, which contains arrangements including basic medical insurance, serious disease insurance and supplementary medical insurance reimbursement.

By the end of 2018, Wang's family had successfully shaken off poverty. "It is our greatest blessing to live in this great era," said Wang, adding that she will always remember the warmth brought by Xi's visit to her home.

DRUG SAFETY GUARANTEED

Four years ago, Xi made the request for "safe and reliable" medicine when inspecting a subordinate company of the Jilin Aodong Pharmaceutical Group, which is located in the Korean autonomous prefecture of Yanbian, northeast China's Jilin province.

"Over the past four years, Xi's words have become a motto which we keep in mind all the time," said You Haitao, the subordinate company's vice general manager in charge of production.

"The responsibility weighs heavier than mountains," You said while standing in the workshop where Xi visited, repeating what Xi had said. "All pharmaceutical companies should earnestly play their roles to fulfill social responsibilities and ensure that every kind of medicine and every single tablet are safe and reliable."

Embedding these remarks in heart is not only because Xi said it, but You also understands that the pills are linked to the safety of the people and can not bear even slightest carelessness.

In recent years, China has called off import tariffs on anticancer drugs, accelerated the examining and approving process for new drugs and built an all-process drug tracing system. All these efforts have shown the country's dedication to guarantee the safety and reliability in every step of medicine production, sales and use.

Thanks to these favorable policies, more patients are expected to be able to use reliable medicines at lower prices.

A nurse takes care of an old woman at Tianjin Yan'an Hospital on Nov 14, 2017. [Photo/IC]

China's State Council made a series of arrangements Wednesday on expanding elderly care services.

According to a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, demand-oriented development of elderly care services is a key measure to improve the quality of life for the aging population.

Efforts will be made to develop a variety of home-based elderly care services supported by communities, including aids in terms of dining, health care, travel and cleaning, the meeting noted.

Non-governmental institutions will be encouraged to develop tourism, health care and other services suitable for the consumption of elderly people.

The country will further support the development of commercial endowment insurance and establish a long-term care system which links insurance, welfare and aid, according to the meeting.

The meeting also decided to step up supervision over the quality of products and services for aged people, and sternly punish those that violate the rights and interests of the senior citizens.

Doctors receive training at Allergan's innovation center in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Construction  of a healthy China requires supply-side structural reform in the field of healthcare services. People's Daily comments:

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has recently issued a guidance document on implementing the Healthy China Action Plan (2019-30). This indicates a nationwide health campaign has officially started.

People's health is the basic foundation for people's all-round development as well as the nation's social and economic development. Good health is not only people's common pursuit, it is also an important factor for national prosperity and strength. Therefore, health is a significant part of national and local governance. Ensuring a healthy China requires building a comprehensive healthcare system, improving national health policies and further promoting people's awareness of a healthy lifestyle.

China has made great achievements in health management since New China was founded. Since the 1950s, China has made great efforts to address people's growing demand for medical care, and gradually established a medical and health service system from the provincial to the village level. Since reform of the health system was implemented in 2009, a basic medicine system has been gradually established nationwide, and basic public health services are provided for free throughout the country. With a comprehensive urban and rural resident medical insurance system covering all its citizens established, China has built the world's largest medical insurance system.

With the country's rapid social and economic development in recent years, as well as social changes including urbanization, industrialization and an aging population, people's health service demands have also changed. As more and more chronic diseases related to unhealthy lifestyles have become the main threats to people's health, national health management needs to change from dealing with disease to people taking responsibility for their health. Therefore, health service supply-side structural reform is required to adapt to the new health management demands.

To promote supply-side structural reform of the health service, a team of qualified general medical practitioners and a scientific hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system need to be established. Big hospitals should actively cooperate with grassroots hospitals to provide them with quality medical talent and technologies, in order to achieve greater equality in the provision of medical services.

A nurse takes care of an old woman at Tianjin Yan'an Hospital on Nov 14, 2017. [Photo/IC]

China's State Council made a series of arrangements Wednesday on expanding elderly care services.

According to a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, demand-oriented development of elderly care services is a key measure to improve the quality of life for the aging population.

Efforts will be made to develop a variety of home-based elderly care services supported by communities, including aids in terms of dining, health care, travel and cleaning, the meeting noted.

Non-governmental institutions will be encouraged to develop tourism, health care and other services suitable for the consumption of elderly people.

The country will further support the development of commercial endowment insurance and establish a long-term care system which links insurance, welfare and aid, according to the meeting.

The meeting also decided to step up supervision over the quality of products and services for aged people, and sternly punish those that violate the rights and interests of the senior citizens.

[Photo/Xinhua]

The State Council, China's cabinet, has issued a new guideline to implement the country's Healthy China initiative and promote people's health.

With a focus on disease prevention and health promotion, the guideline proposed 15 special campaigns to "intervene in health influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health and prevent and control major diseases."

An action plan for 2019-2030 devised by a newly-established State Council special committee was also made public Monday, specifying the objectives and tasks of each campaign, as well as the responsibilities of different actors in the campaigns.

Major health concerns in society, including psychological health, student myopia, child obesity and cancer, will be covered by the campaigns.

The General Office of the State Council also released a plan on the organization, implementation and appraisal of the campaigns.

In 2016, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council released the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint, which covered areas such as public health services, environment management, the medical industry and food and drug safety.

Students hold "no smoking" signs to promote No Tobacco Day at Chaoyang Primary School in Huaibei, Anhui province, May 30, 2018. [Photo/VCG]

Over 80 percent of China's population will be under smoke-free legal protection as of 2030, according to an action plan to implement the Healthy China initiative and promote people's health.

According to the action plan, Party and government branches at all levels will become smoking-free, and smoking will get gradually banned throughout indoor public spaces, workplaces and public transport.

Currently, there are over 300 million smokers in China, and over 1 million people die of smoking-related diseases annually.

As of the end of 2018, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xi'an have implemented a complete ban on smoking in indoor public spaces.

A nurse takes care of an old woman at Tianjin Yan'an Hospital on Nov 14, 2017. [Photo/IC]

Nation to target early signs of trouble, especially illnesses tied to dementia

Even though China increased its average life span to 77 years last year, the country's seniors often live the last eight years of their lives in poor health, the National Health Commission said on Monday.

The average healthy life expectancy in China－an indicator used by the World Health Organization to measure years of good health a newborn can expect－stands at 68.7 years, meaning severe diseases drag down the quality of life for the elderly for nearly a decade, said Wang Haidong, director of the commission's aging and health department.

"There are more than 180 million seniors with chronic conditions and 40 million living with disabilities," he said, adding that China is home to about 250 million people aged 60 or older, accounting for 18 percent of the population.

The country aims to reduce the disability rate for those aged 65 to 74 and curtail the rising rates of dementia among those 65 or over in the next decade, according to a health promotion plan issued by the State Council earlier this month.

Chen Zheng, head of the Beijing Geriatric Hospital, said occurrences of disabilities are closely tied to chronic illnesses, especially cardiovascular diseases and malignant tumors.

"Multiple chronic diseases will first lead to severe complications such as sleep disorder, chronic pain and urinary incontinence," he said. "Gradually, critical conditions including strokes and respiratory failure might surface and result in disabilities."

Chen said it is therefore significant to precisely detect early signs of disability and allow elderly patients to receive effective diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.

According to Wang, the department of aging and health, which was established in September during a government reshuffle, has been improving grassroots medical services targeting the older population by conducting more physical examinations for the elderly and formulating new guidelines intended to smooth out services at elderly-oriented hospitals.

As China's population ages, the number of people living with age-related dementia is also climbing.

"It is estimated that more than 9 million elderly people have dementia in China. The number is projected to reach 40 million by 2050," said Li Zhixin, a senior official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. "In order to curb the rates, it is crucial to perform long-term monitoring and carry out early interventions among the group, which demonstrates a higher risk of developing dementia.

"Research shows that hearing loss, obesity, tobacco use, depression and lack of exercise or social interaction are among factors that are closely linked to dementia. If we can effectively prevent and control these factors, the incidence rate of dementia is likely to drop by 40 percent."

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan was appointed as head of the committee.

The committee is intended to promote the implementation, supervision and assessment work related to the initiative. It will work on plans and policies as per annual research, and push government departments and local authorities to implement them.

It shall provide guidelines for health education and prevention, treatment and recovery of major diseases based on the change of disease spectrum and medical progress, the circular read.

Deputy directors include: Ma Xiaowei, director of the National Health Commission; Chen Baosheng, minister of education; Gou Zhongwen, head of the General Administration of Sports; and Ding Xiangyang, State Council deputy secretary-general.

Committee members include senior officials at the Ministries of Industry and Information Technology, Public Security, Finance and other related departments and bureaus.

Experts, NPC deputies, CPPCC members and public figures will also be selected as committee members.

The emphasis on both high-quality treatment and prevention will give a significant boost to the whole health industry. [Photo/IC]

The government's guideline to implement the Healthy China Initiative focusing on disease prevention, chronic disease management and high-quality treatment will lead to an overhaul and transformation of the health industry, prompting companies to provide better products and services for people in the country, industry insiders said.

The State Council, China's cabinet, issued the guideline on July 15 for the initiative, which was in a blueprint released in 2016 by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council. The initiative covered areas such as public health services, environment management, the medical industry, and food and drug safety.

"The guideline and action plan cover all the urgent challenges Chinese society is facing in the health sector, especially in disease education and prevention, chronic disease management, and control of diseases causing great burdens, such as cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disease," said Shi Lichen, founder of medical consultancy Beijing Dingchen Consultancy.

"The emphasis on both high-quality treatment and prevention will give a significant boost to the whole health industry, and will also change industry players' fundamental logic in products and services design and promotion".

With a focus on disease prevention and health promotion, the new guideline proposed 15 special campaigns to "intervene in health influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health and prevent and control major diseases."

An action plan for 2019-30 devised by a newly established special committee of the State Council was also issued on the same day, specifying the objectives and tasks of each campaign.

Major concerns such as psychological health, student myopia, child obesity, diabetes, and cancer will be covered by the campaigns.

The guideline said chronic and non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes account for 88 percent of all deaths in China, and those ailments account for more than 70 percent of the total disease burden.

The general public lacks knowledge on health and unhealthy lifestyles. Unhealthy practices which include smoking, excessive drinking, lack of exercise, and a poor diet are quite common, causing a higher incidence of related diseases.

The prevention and control of major infectious diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, and AIDS remains challenging, it said.

Yu Hong, CEO of Beijing Ming Vision, a famous private clinic for myopia prevention and treatment in Beijing which has spent two decades working in the health industry, said such a top-level and comprehensive guideline on health promotion is rare, and will spur the health industry's development.

"The detailed directions on implementing the Healthy China Initiative will improve national health awareness and lead to growth in market demand," he said.

It will be easier for sectors such as medical checkups, rehabilitation, chronic disease management and other non-hospital health services to get investments and develop, Yu said.

"Demand growth in traditional and emerging medical sectors will promote the systematic and balanced development of all sectors in the health industry," he explained.

Liu Zhiye, vice-president of Luye Life Sciences Group, said the guideline's emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention, not just disease treatment, will help people stay healthy and ultimately reduce medical expenditures, especially those on drugs and disease care.

"The guideline will inject new development by strengthening the disease prevention sector, especially training and education facilities, community health centers, and social media," she said. Patient education and mental healthcare should be covered by medical insurance programs, she added.

Zheng Qunyi, chairman of Herbalife Nutrition China, said disease prevention is the most economical and effective health strategy, and Herbalife Nutrition is very encouraged by this new guideline because the company's corporate vision is aligned with the national health agenda. Herbalife Nutrition has been actively promoting healthy lifestyles through "nutrition plus exercise" in its business practices.

Wu Xiaobin, president of BeiGene Ltd, a global biotechnology company focusing on molecularly targeted and immuno-oncology cancer therapeutics, said the guideline reflected the Chinese government's concern over people's health awareness and its determination to increase the affordability and accessibility of medicines for its people.

He pointed to cancer as a top disease concern in China, and the guideline and action plan is aiming to make the overall five-year cancer survival rate higher than 43.3 percent and 46.6 percent by 2022 and 2030, respectively.

BeiGene will continue its research-based strategies, such as developing treatments for prevalent cancers in China to serve the national health agenda, he said, adding the company will make more efforts in R&D to develop first-in-class medicines.

The accessibility and affordability of innovative drugs in China have largely improved, thanks to efforts by the Chinese government, Wu said, believing Chinese companies will play a more important role in those areas in the future.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

The emphasis on both high-quality treatment and prevention will give a significant boost to the whole health industry. [Photo/IC]

The government's guideline to implement the Healthy China Initiative focusing on disease prevention, chronic disease management and high-quality treatment will lead to an overhaul and transformation of the health industry, prompting companies to provide better products and services for people in the country, industry insiders said.

The State Council, China's cabinet, issued the guideline on July 15 for the initiative, which was in a blueprint released in 2016 by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council. The initiative covered areas such as public health services, environment management, the medical industry, and food and drug safety.

"The guideline and action plan cover all the urgent challenges Chinese society is facing in the health sector, especially in disease education and prevention, chronic disease management, and control of diseases causing great burdens, such as cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disease," said Shi Lichen, founder of medical consultancy Beijing Dingchen Consultancy.

"The emphasis on both high-quality treatment and prevention will give a significant boost to the whole health industry, and will also change industry players' fundamental logic in products and services design and promotion".

With a focus on disease prevention and health promotion, the new guideline proposed 15 special campaigns to "intervene in health influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health and prevent and control major diseases."

An action plan for 2019-30 devised by a newly established special committee of the State Council was also issued on the same day, specifying the objectives and tasks of each campaign.

Major concerns such as psychological health, student myopia, child obesity, diabetes, and cancer will be covered by the campaigns.

The guideline said chronic and non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes account for 88 percent of all deaths in China, and those ailments account for more than 70 percent of the total disease burden.

The general public lacks knowledge on health and unhealthy lifestyles. Unhealthy practices which include smoking, excessive drinking, lack of exercise, and a poor diet are quite common, causing a higher incidence of related diseases.

The prevention and control of major infectious diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, and AIDS remains challenging, it said.

Yu Hong, CEO of Beijing Ming Vision, a famous private clinic for myopia prevention and treatment in Beijing which has spent two decades working in the health industry, said such a top-level and comprehensive guideline on health promotion is rare, and will spur the health industry's development.

"The detailed directions on implementing the Healthy China Initiative will improve national health awareness and lead to growth in market demand," he said.

It will be easier for sectors such as medical checkups, rehabilitation, chronic disease management and other non-hospital health services to get investments and develop, Yu said.

"Demand growth in traditional and emerging medical sectors will promote the systematic and balanced development of all sectors in the health industry," he explained.

Liu Zhiye, vice-president of Luye Life Sciences Group, said the guideline's emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention, not just disease treatment, will help people stay healthy and ultimately reduce medical expenditures, especially those on drugs and disease care.

"The guideline will inject new development by strengthening the disease prevention sector, especially training and education facilities, community health centers, and social media," she said. Patient education and mental healthcare should be covered by medical insurance programs, she added.

Zheng Qunyi, chairman of Herbalife Nutrition China, said disease prevention is the most economical and effective health strategy, and Herbalife Nutrition is very encouraged by this new guideline because the company's corporate vision is aligned with the national health agenda. Herbalife Nutrition has been actively promoting healthy lifestyles through "nutrition plus exercise" in its business practices.

Wu Xiaobin, president of BeiGene Ltd, a global biotechnology company focusing on molecularly targeted and immuno-oncology cancer therapeutics, said the guideline reflected the Chinese government's concern over people's health awareness and its determination to increase the affordability and accessibility of medicines for its people.

He pointed to cancer as a top disease concern in China, and the guideline and action plan is aiming to make the overall five-year cancer survival rate higher than 43.3 percent and 46.6 percent by 2022 and 2030, respectively.

BeiGene will continue its research-based strategies, such as developing treatments for prevalent cancers in China to serve the national health agenda, he said, adding the company will make more efforts in R&D to develop first-in-class medicines.

The accessibility and affordability of innovative drugs in China have largely improved, thanks to efforts by the Chinese government, Wu said, believing Chinese companies will play a more important role in those areas in the future.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

A customer smashes beer bottles and pots to stress his pressure at Beijing's first "Anger Room" in Beijing, Jan 19, 2019.[Photo/IC]

Individuals and families have been urged to improve mental health awareness and take scientific measures to manage personal stress, according to experts at a press conference Tuesday on a national campaign for mental health promotion.

The national campaign also called for greater government efforts in communicating knowledge about mental health to the public and forging community-based mental health service networks.

When people feel depressed, frustrated and anxious in their work and life, they can get psychological support by dialing psychological assistance hotlines or seek help from specialized departments of hospitals and mental health service institutions, according to the experts.

China will step up its efforts to enhance people's mental health, as the country aims to improve the rate of treatment of depression by 80 percent by 2030, according to the Healthy China Action (2019-2030) plan made public by Chinese central authorities earlier this month.

China is seeing an increasing number of people with mental disorders and behavior problems, and the public still has limited knowledge of such issues, lacking awareness of how to prevent and deal with them, says the plan.

Students hold "no smoking" signs to promote No Tobacco Day at Chaoyang Primary School in Huaibei, Anhui province, May 30, 2018. [Photo/VCG]

Over 80 percent of China's population will be under smoke-free legal protection as of 2030, according to an action plan to implement the Healthy China initiative and promote people's health.

According to the action plan, Party and government branches at all levels will become smoking-free, and smoking will get gradually banned throughout indoor public spaces, workplaces and public transport.

Currently, there are over 300 million smokers in China, and over 1 million people die of smoking-related diseases annually.

As of the end of 2018, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xi'an have implemented a complete ban on smoking in indoor public spaces.

Nearly 570,000 villages throughout the country currently have access to such facilities, but the remaining 50,000 are not covered yet by the program, said Lang Wei, an official with the General Administration of Sport (GAS).

China has unveiled a new action plan to implement the country's Healthy China initiative and promote people's health. According to the plan, the per capita area dedicated to sports venues will reach 1.9 and 2.3 square meters by 2022 and 2030, respectively.

The action plan also proposes 6,000 to 10,000 footsteps' walking or running as the standard amount of daily exercise per individual, and encourages the public to include more physical activities in their daily life.

China marks its National Fitness Day on Aug 8. This year, various activities will be held to promote exercising among the public, said the GAS.

Speaking at a launching ceremony of the Healthy China initiative in Beijing on July 18, Sun said targeted efforts should be made to prevent and control major threats to health among key populations, and stressed that prevention should be the top priority.

The government should improve health service systems and put efforts in chronic disease management and vaccination, Sun said.

She also called upon industrial associations, schools, hospitals, enterprises and communities to increase the supply of health products and services.

The State Council recently issued a new guideline to implement the country's Healthy China initiative.

In 2016, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council released the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint, which covered areas such as public health services, environment management, the medical industry and food and drug safety.

[Photo/Xinhua]

China earlier this week marked a significant milestone for public health in the country when the State Council, popularly known as China’s cabinet, announced an ambitious guideline and action plan to achieve the goals of the Healthy China 2030 strategy.

Typically when patients seek help at clinics, physicians write prescriptions depending on patients’ needs. This is a passive action taken in response to a specific medical condition.

When providing treatment, modern physicians generally engage with patients under legacy systems designed and implemented over a century ago. Healthcare systems across the world are now struggling to cope with increasing demands and costs.

Building on years of efforts strengthening health systems and providing universal health coverage, China has made the decision to shift its focus from treatment to prevention – to put healthy lives at the core.

China’s latest national guideline, which will be in force from now to 2030, outlines 15 major health campaigns to “intervene in health-influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health, and prevent and control major diseases.”

These health-influencing factors include health literacy, diet, regular fitness work, tobacco use, mental health, and environmental health. Full-life-cycle health intervention targets women, children, adolescents, workers, primary and middle school students, and senior citizens.

Both communicable and non-communicable diseases are on China’s radar, with special importance attached to cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes management.

The Healthy China 2030 blueprint was unveiled in 2016 to achieve health targets aligned with the UN’s sustainable development goals.

The latest action plan – complete with indicators, timeframes, and task allocation between government and civil society – represents the largest ever public health plan worldwide, given China’s population of approximately 1.4 billion people.

The idea that health should be considered key to human development continues to evolve. China’s ambitious policy for the world’s largest national population therefore allows for adjustments and modifications in line with medical and scientific advances. 

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. It’s fitting that the action plan for achieving the Healthy China 2030 goals was launched at this point in time.

The concept of Public Health 3.0 has been promoted by American healthcare professionals as a vehicle for population-wide, community-based interventions. It’s a noble paradigm for public health in the 21st century. China, the world’s most populous nation and biggest developing country, learns and takes action on an unprecedented scale.

In the years from now to 2030, exciting changes are sure to take place, which are expected to generate both concrete results and innovative solutions.

The whole world will follow China as the country implements the most ambitious and complex population-wide health plan in human history.

China’s work in public health will be a true public good. Let the country inspire global public health discourse between the global south and north, as well as contribute to south-south public health cooperation.

The author is a Beijing-based consultant working on international development issues, covering public health, clean energy and poverty reduction.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.

[Photo/Xinhua]

China earlier this week marked a significant milestone for public health in the country when the State Council, popularly known as China’s cabinet, announced an ambitious guideline and action plan to achieve the goals of the Healthy China 2030 strategy.

Typically when patients seek help at clinics, physicians write prescriptions depending on patients’ needs. This is a passive action taken in response to a specific medical condition.

When providing treatment, modern physicians generally engage with patients under legacy systems designed and implemented over a century ago. Healthcare systems across the world are now struggling to cope with increasing demands and costs.

Building on years of efforts strengthening health systems and providing universal health coverage, China has made the decision to shift its focus from treatment to prevention – to put healthy lives at the core.

China’s latest national guideline, which will be in force from now to 2030, outlines 15 major health campaigns to “intervene in health-influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health, and prevent and control major diseases.”

These health-influencing factors include health literacy, diet, regular fitness work, tobacco use, mental health, and environmental health. Full-life-cycle health intervention targets women, children, adolescents, workers, primary and middle school students, and senior citizens.

Both communicable and non-communicable diseases are on China’s radar, with special importance attached to cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes management.

The Healthy China 2030 blueprint was unveiled in 2016 to achieve health targets aligned with the UN’s sustainable development goals.

The latest action plan – complete with indicators, timeframes, and task allocation between government and civil society – represents the largest ever public health plan worldwide, given China’s population of approximately 1.4 billion people.

The idea that health should be considered key to human development continues to evolve. China’s ambitious policy for the world’s largest national population therefore allows for adjustments and modifications in line with medical and scientific advances. 

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. It’s fitting that the action plan for achieving the Healthy China 2030 goals was launched at this point in time.

The concept of Public Health 3.0 has been promoted by American healthcare professionals as a vehicle for population-wide, community-based interventions. It’s a noble paradigm for public health in the 21st century. China, the world’s most populous nation and biggest developing country, learns and takes action on an unprecedented scale.

In the years from now to 2030, exciting changes are sure to take place, which are expected to generate both concrete results and innovative solutions.

The whole world will follow China as the country implements the most ambitious and complex population-wide health plan in human history.

China’s work in public health will be a true public good. Let the country inspire global public health discourse between the global south and north, as well as contribute to south-south public health cooperation.

The author is a Beijing-based consultant working on international development issues, covering public health, clean energy and poverty reduction.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.

The plan for the 2019-2030 period was devised and issued by a special committee recently established by the State Council.

It proposes 6,000 to 10,000 footsteps' walking or running as the standard amount of daily exercise per individual, and encourages the public to include more physical activity in their daily life.

The plan also suggests doing over 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise more than three times a week, or a sum total of 150 minutes of such exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise as the standard weekly amount per individual.

[Photo/Xinhua]

The State Council, China's cabinet, has issued a new guideline to implement the country's Healthy China initiative and promote people's health.

With a focus on disease prevention and health promotion, the guideline proposed 15 special campaigns to "intervene in health influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health and prevent and control major diseases."

An action plan for 2019-2030 devised by a newly-established State Council special committee was also made public Monday, specifying the objectives and tasks of each campaign, as well as the responsibilities of different actors in the campaigns.

Major health concerns in society, including psychological health, student myopia, child obesity and cancer, will be covered by the campaigns.

The General Office of the State Council also released a plan on the organization, implementation and appraisal of the campaigns.

In 2016, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council released the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint, which covered areas such as public health services, environment management, the medical industry and food and drug safety.

The plan outlines the full implementation of the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint and State Council's Opinions on Implementing the Program.

It states that a national level promotional committee will be set up, and the Healthy China Program (2019-2030) will be printed and published.

The committee will also establish an expert consultation panel, providing technology support for the implementation of the program.

Special action work teams will also be coordinated under the promotional committee.

The committee will convene a variety of meetings to ensure the smooth success of the initiative, including plenary, directors' office, and general office meetings.

The promotion committee will study and determine each year's achievement priorities, deal with cross-department problems, and help establish a foundation to ensure financing of the "Healthy China" initiative.

In addition, the committee will enhance publicity of health knowledge through diversified media platforms.

Key indicators and implementation of key tasks will be monitored yearly, and work teams shall also compile annual reports according to the progress of their tasks.

A nurse takes care of an old woman at Tianjin Yan'an Hospital on Nov 14, 2017. [Photo/IC]

By 2030, nation aims to raise healthy life expectancy by 'moderately great extent'

China plans to curb increasing rates of chronic illnesses and effectively prevent and contain the spread of key contagious diseases by 2022, according to a guideline issued by the State Council on July 15.

By 2030, the country will increase its average healthy life expectancy by "a moderately great extent" and align itself with high-income countries in terms of key indicators of health, the guideline said.

Deaths resulting from chronic, non-communicable diseases account for 88 percent of the country's mortality rates. These chronic conditions also contribute to more than 70 percent of medical burdens, according to Yu Xuejun, deputy head of the National Health Commission.

Among them, cardiovascular problems, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes have emerged as major threats to citizens' health in recent years, partially due to unhealthy lifestyles such as tobacco use, lack of exercise and poor health awareness, he added.

Meanwhile, critical contagious diseases including hepatitis, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS continue to pose challenges to the country's prevention and control capability, Yu said.

"The guideline has specifically targeted these key health issues and aims at addressing them from the roots," he said at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office on Monday.

According to the guideline, the country will continue to push for early screenings and diagnoses of cancer and promote standard treatments of common tumors while boosting the capabilities of grassroots clinics and medical workers in central and western parts of the country.

Strengthened efforts will be devoted to research into new cancer treatments, as well as into accelerating approval procedures for urgently needed medications.

China aims to raise the five-year survival rate of all cancer patients to 43.3 percent by 2022 and 46.6 percent by 2030, the guideline said. The current rate stands at 40.5 percent, according to data released by the National Cancer Institute in January.

In order to further reduce smoking, the guideline calls for comprehensive measures, including altering its tax policies and pricing strategies as well as forming standards to govern packaging of tobacco products.

"Government officials, health workers and teachers should play a leading role in reducing tobacco use," the guideline said.

As China ramps up its efforts in environmental protection in recent years, the document also highlights the significance of creating a clean environment while combating and preventing pollution in improving the health of local residents.

It proposes setting up a surveillance and risk evaluation system that analyzes the dynamics between environmental factors and people's health status. Furthermore, it calls for effective measures to rein in diseases arising from exposure to pollutants.

China's central leadership published an outline in 2016 to guide the Healthy China 2030 Initiative, a national plan aimed at advancing public health services.

In order to ensure full implementation of the guideline, the State Council also released a notice on Monday that lays out organizational structures and assessment requirements. A committee headed by Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan has also been established to oversee its enforcement.

The committee has developed an action plan that specifies measures to be taken from 2019 to 2030 to promote the health of citizens. It addressed 15 key areas in the health sector, such as advocating knowledge of health, balanced diet and exercises, and specified the roles of individuals, families, social institutions and government bodies in pursuing goals in these areas, according to Mao Qun'an, head of the National Health Commission's planning and information department.

The Healthy China Action (2019-2030) plan was devised and issued by a special committee recently established by the State Council.

China is seeing an increasing number of people with mental disorders and behavior problems, and the public still have limited knowledge of such issues, lacking an awareness of how to prevent and deal with them, the plan says.

It puts forward measures for authorities to carry out, including promoting knowledge on mental health via various forms and platforms, setting up more community-based consulting rooms in terms of mental health, and improving the ranks of practitioners by creating more relevant college majors and positions.

The plan also gives suggestions on how individuals, families and society can improve the overall mental health situation, such as by using more scientific methods to ease pressure, ensuring enough sleep, giving full play to the role of mental healthcare institutions, and enhancing mental health education among new employees and students.

Students in Xuanhua No.2 Middle School learn first-aid skills from an emergency medical staff, in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, July 14, 2019. [Photo/IC]

A new Chinese health action plan has called for better health knowledge among the country's primary, middle and high school students.

The plan proposed including health and first-aid skills in school exams.

Students' mastery of health knowledge and first-aid skills should also be an important appraisal criterion when deciding on awards and graduation, according to the plan.

China on Monday issued a new guideline to implement its Healthy China initiative.

The guideline proposed 15 special campaigns to "intervene in health influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health and prevent and control major diseases."

In 2016, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council released the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint, which covers areas such as public health services, environment management, the medical industry, and food and drug safety.

Students in Xuanhua No.2 Middle School learn first-aid skills from an emergency medical staff, in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, July 14, 2019. [Photo/IC]

A new Chinese health action plan has called for better health knowledge among the country's primary, middle and high school students.

The plan proposed including health and first-aid skills in school exams.

Students' mastery of health knowledge and first-aid skills should also be an important appraisal criterion when deciding on awards and graduation, according to the plan.

China on Monday issued a new guideline to implement its Healthy China initiative.

The guideline proposed 15 special campaigns to "intervene in health influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health and prevent and control major diseases."

In 2016, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council released the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint, which covers areas such as public health services, environment management, the medical industry, and food and drug safety.

Tiered medical treatment, modern hospital management, universal medical insurance, medicine supply guarantee and medical service improvement were some of the issues addressed at the press conference.

In 2015, the State Council leading group on medical reform decided to carry out trials of comprehensive medical reform at the provincial level. Currently, there are 11 provinces from two rounds of trial reform that have participated: East China's Shanghai municipality and Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Zhejiang provinces, Northwest China's Qinghai and Shaanxi provinces, and Ningxia Hui autonomous region, and Southwest China's Chongqing municipality and Sichuan province, as well as Central China's Hunan province.

Liang Wannian, head of the National Health Commission's division of institutional reform, said that the 11 pilot provinces have achieved commendable practices with innovative attempts, playing a pioneering role in the reform.

The provinces have established strong leadership and mechanisms, and adopted innovative measures to promote the reform.

Anhui, one of the first pilot provinces, took the lead in abolishing markups on medicines and high-value medical consumables in public hospitals. Also, Zhejiang province promoted some mobile applications, including one that allows patients to make one-time payments after finishing the diagnosis process, instead of paying separately for examination, test, pharmacy and treatment.

The focus of comprehensive medical reform, Liang said, is to tackle the difficulty in accessing medical services and the high expenses. The pilot provinces have taken measures to optimize the distribution of healthcare resources and set up a tiered medical system. For example, they instituted reforms at county- and township-level healthcare institutions, encouraged and supported opening private hospitals, and increased the use of cheaper and more accessible traditional Chinese medicines.

Additionally, they worked to lower inflated medicine prices, increased comprehensive reform at public hospitals and expanded medical security.

The commission will further improve and deepen the medical reform and present the pilot provinces as benchmarks for the nationwide campaign, Liang added.

Medical aid team member Chen Zhifang(2nd R) and Chen Weiyu(1st R) measure blood pressure for locals in a tent in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team members Chen Zhifang(2nd L) and Chen Weiyu(2nd R) talk to locals in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Aerial photo taken on June 23, 2019 shows Medical aid team members walking to visit patients in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province. 

Medical aid team member Qin Xin(R) measures blood pressure for a local resident in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team member Chen Zhifang takes a motorcycle to visit a patient in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team member Yang Yanxia( L) treats a local resident in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team leader Ma Taoye(3rd R) explains health care knowledge to local people in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team member Yang Yanxia( L) serves a local resident in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019.

Medical aid team member Chen Zhifang(R) provides free consultation services for locals in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team member Chen Zhifang(R) measures blood pressure for a local resident in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019.

Medical aid team member Chen Zhifang(2nd R) and Chen Weiyu(1st R) measure blood pressure for locals in a tent in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team members Chen Zhifang(2nd L) and Chen Weiyu(2nd R) talk to locals in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Aerial photo taken on June 23, 2019 shows Medical aid team members walking to visit patients in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province. 

Medical aid team member Qin Xin(R) measures blood pressure for a local resident in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team member Chen Zhifang takes a motorcycle to visit a patient in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team member Yang Yanxia( L) treats a local resident in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team leader Ma Taoye(3rd R) explains health care knowledge to local people in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team member Yang Yanxia( L) serves a local resident in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019.

Medical aid team member Chen Zhifang(R) provides free consultation services for locals in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019. 

Medical aid team member Chen Zhifang(R) measures blood pressure for a local resident in Maqu County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, on June 23, 2019.

Zeng Yixin(2nd R), vice-minister of the National Health Commission, inspects the lab of the national study center for tropical diseases at the National Institute for Parasitic Diseases. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Zeng Yixin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission inspected on June 15 the national study center for tropical diseases at the National Institute for Parasitic Diseases.

The national study center should attach great attention to formulating technological standards and norms in the area to enhance the ability of the disease’s diagnosis and treatment, said Zeng , adding that the scientific research platform should be strengthened in order to improve the institute’s research capability.

He urged the center to optimize operation and management mechanism, said the center should attract and stabilize talents through favorable policies , said Zeng.

A global health academy is going to be built by the center together with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, according to Zeng.

Li Bin (1st L ) address the 3rd Annual Global Forum of Malaria-Eliminating Countries on June 18 in Wuxi, East China’s Jiangsu province. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

China is willing to share good practices on malaria elimination with other countries to reduce the disease and build a healthy Silk Road, according to an official of China’s top health authority.

Artemisinin is one of China’s contributions to global malaria elimination, said Li Bin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission(NHC), at the third Annual Global Forum of Malaria-Eliminating Countries held on June 18 in Wuxi, East China’s Jiangsu province.

Organized by the NHC and the World Health Organization, the meeting held in China is crucial for the country to meet its goal of eradicating malaria in 2020, said Li, adding that it is also a platform where various nations can exchange and learn from each other in the area.

Gauden Galea, WHO Representative in China, and Pedro L. Alonso, leader of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, as well as representatives of 20 countries which plan to eliminate malaria by 2020, attended the forum.

The list, which includes drugs that treat serious diseases such as AIDS and leukemia, has been published on the commission's website and is soliciting public opinion for five working days. [Photo/VCG]

The National Health Commission on Thursday released a list of 34 patented drugs and encouraged the production of generic alternatives.

The drugs were selected from a variety used in China whose patents have expired or will soon expire, drugs that are in short supply and drugs whose manufacturers voluntarily applied, the commission said.

The list, which includes drugs that treat serious diseases such as AIDS and leukemia, was published on the commission's website and is soliciting public opinion for five working days.

A plan released by 12 central government departments, including the commission, earlier said the first list of recommended drugs should be released before the end of June to guide pharmaceutical companies' research, development and production.

Such a list will be released every year, the plan said.

A State Council guideline released last year said authorities should take measures to encourage the research and development of generic drugs that are badly in need, to meet the needs of patients and reduce their drug expenditures.

The list, which includes drugs that treat serious diseases such as AIDS and leukemia, has been published on the commission's website and is soliciting public opinion for five working days. [Photo/VCG]

The National Health Commission on Thursday released a list of 34 patented drugs and encouraged the production of generic alternatives.

The drugs were selected from a variety used in China whose patents have expired or will soon expire, drugs that are in short supply and drugs whose manufacturers voluntarily applied, the commission said.

The list, which includes drugs that treat serious diseases such as AIDS and leukemia, was published on the commission's website and is soliciting public opinion for five working days.

A plan released by 12 central government departments, including the commission, earlier said the first list of recommended drugs should be released before the end of June to guide pharmaceutical companies' research, development and production.

Such a list will be released every year, the plan said.

A State Council guideline released last year said authorities should take measures to encourage the research and development of generic drugs that are badly in need, to meet the needs of patients and reduce their drug expenditures.

The list, which includes drugs that treat serious diseases such as AIDS and leukemia, has been published on the commission's website and is soliciting public opinion for five working days. [Photo/VCG]

The National Health Commission on Thursday released a list of 34 patented drugs and encouraged the production of generic alternatives.

The drugs were selected from a variety used in China whose patents have expired or will soon expire, drugs that are in short supply and drugs whose manufacturers voluntarily applied, the commission said.

The list, which includes drugs that treat serious diseases such as AIDS and leukemia, was published on the commission's website and is soliciting public opinion for five working days.

A plan released by 12 central government departments, including the commission, earlier said the first list of recommended drugs should be released before the end of June to guide pharmaceutical companies' research, development and production.

Such a list will be released every year, the plan said.

A State Council guideline released last year said authorities should take measures to encourage the research and development of generic drugs that are badly in need, to meet the needs of patients and reduce their drug expenditures.

The community hospital should offer, at least, general medical service, rehabilitation treatment and traditional Chinese medical services to patients, according to the standard.

The NHC also requires that at least one attending physician or a practitioner with a higher post for each clinical department and at least three general medical practitioners in each community hospital.

Non-medical service personnel should be less than 15 percent of all employees in community hospitals, noted the standard, adding that each sickbed should have at least 0.7 medical service personnel to cover it.

The community hospital should offer, at least, general medical service, rehabilitation treatment and traditional Chinese medical services to patients, according to the standard.

The NHC also requires that at least one attending physician or a practitioner with a higher post for each clinical department and at least three general medical practitioners in each community hospital.

Non-medical service personnel should be less than 15 percent of all employees in community hospitals, noted the standard, adding that each sickbed should have at least 0.7 medical service personnel to cover it.

The community hospital should offer, at least, general medical service, rehabilitation treatment and traditional Chinese medical services to patients, according to the standard.

The NHC also requires that at least one attending physician or a practitioner with a higher post for each clinical department and at least three general medical practitioners in each community hospital.

Non-medical service personnel should be less than 15 percent of all employees in community hospitals, noted the standard, adding that each sickbed should have at least 0.7 medical service personnel to cover it.

Currently, no more than 20 percent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a very early stage in China. [Photo by ZHAO JIN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Treatment shifts from disease-focused approach to a patient-centered one

After doctors removed a cancerous tumor from her right breast, Dai Lifang, 37, woke up from the induced anesthesia and immediately explored the affected area with her hand.

"When I woke up, I touched my right breast. It was still there," she said. "I felt so relieved. It was almost the same as before, except for the little, 10-centimeter horizontal scar."

The surgery Dai underwent earlier this month offers new hope for women with breast cancer. It means that for many women, a key part of their bodies-one closely tied to their self-image-can remain intact.

As surgical procedures have advanced, cancer treatments have shifted more to a patient-centered approach from a disease-centered one, according to Liao Ning, Dai's surgeon and the head of the breast cancer center at the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences and Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

"As a woman myself, I understand what complete and full breasts mean for a woman's self-esteem and sometimes their intimate relationships," said Liao, who was trained in Germany.

Mastectomy, the removal of all or part of a breast, has long been the norm for certain breast cancers that have not yet spread throughout the body.

"I have seen young patients in their 30s who no longer had sex with their husbands after a mastectomy. The man lost his desire for the wife," Liao said. "That would hurt the woman's feelings badly and impact the treatment outcome over the long run."

On June 7, China celebrated Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional event to remember ancient poet Qu Yuan.

For Dai, there was something more to celebrate during the holiday. She was released from hospital and received new hope for life. She was cancer-free and still "complete".

Women in Henan province receive free screening for breast and cervical cancers. [Photo by CHENG ZHUANYI/FOR CHINA DAILY]

She's considering cosmetic procedures later to conceal the scar. "I am still young and the breast is necessary to my body and to my pride as a woman," she said.

Liao, the surgeon, said Chinese women with breast cancer naturally want to know if their breasts can be preserved. For some cancers, the answer is yes.

Breast-conserving surgery aims to remove only the cancer while leaving as much normal breast as possible. How much of the breast is removed depends on factors such as the location and size of the tumor.

But not all patients are right candidates, Liao said. It's usually an option for an early-stage patient.

In most cases the patient will need radiation after the surgery to prevent the cancer's return. Full mastectomies are less likely to require radiation afterward. The decision involves balancing many factors.

"As long as the cancer won't come back and I can keep my breast, I don't mind radiation at all," Dai said. She had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

To assure the patients of a quality life, Liao has been widely promoting breast-conserving surgery, particularly for younger patients with early stages of breast cancer.

Liao and her colleagues performed about 350 breast-conserving surgeries last year, accounting for 25 percent of all breast cancer surgeries at the center.

"Follow-up radiation therapy is necessary as it helps reduce the chance of relapse by two-thirds," said Chen Mo, a surgeon at the center. More than 95 percent of the recipients there survive for more than five years.

Liao added that with follow-up radiation therapy, "survival chances equal that of a mastectomy".

Other major breast cancer centers in top cities like Beijing and Shanghai have found similar outcomes but nationally it is a different story, with less than 10 percent of breast cancer surgeries performed conserving the breasts, far lower than an average of 63 percent in the United States.

In poor regions, such as the western parts of China, the rate can be as low as 3 percent, Liao said. "A lack of competent breast cancer specialists is mainly to be blamed for the gap," she said.

Wu Jiong, a leading breast cancer surgeon at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, said other factors such as limited access to radiation therapy and a lower detection rate of early breast cancers also play a role.

Currently, no more than 20 percent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a very early stage in China, according to the National Cancer Center, which follows the rates of cancer incidence, survival and mortality by collecting and analyzing data from about 370 cancer surveillance centers across the country.

Public awareness needs to be enhanced as well, Liao said.

Dai had no idea breast-conserving surgery was available until she was informed about her options at the hospital.

She discovered her cancer early this year when an ultrasound scan detected a tumor measuring 1.1 centimeters in diameter in her right breast during government-funded free breast cancer screening at a community clinic.

"It was hard to believe at first because I could feel nothing wrong with my breast," she recalled. "But now I kind of feel lucky. I am the only one of the six patients at the hospital ward who is getting the breast-conserving surgery."

Liao said that for younger patients in their 30s: "I strongly recommend breast-conserving surgery if her condition permits. They still have long way to go in their life."

But she also stressed that life and health is the top priority and cannot be compromised. "We follow strict clinical indications in deciding the surgery options."

For instance, an early-stage patient would still receive a mastectomy if she tested positive for breast cancer-causing gene mutations, which indicate a high possibility of relapse.

Moreover, social and economic factors have to be considered before making a treatment decision-for example, whether the patient can afford the extra costs of radiation therapy, usually ranging from 40,000-80,000 yuan ($6,000-$12,000) and whether she can access following-up intervention as needed, Liao added.

A doctor checks CT scans. [Photo by LIU HAIYUN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Reconstruction

Shao Zhimin, director of the breast surgery section of the Shanghai Cancer Center said there are various ways to "retain completeness"-for example, breast reconstruction, which builds the look and shape of the breasts.

"Our team focuses not only on the long-term survival of the patients but their social and psychological demands," Shao said.

To achieve a patient-centered treatment, Liao said, "it must be a multi-disciplinary team (MDT)".

Chun Li, another patient of Liao, was impressed by the MDT approach. "There were four doctors including the breast cancer and cosmetic surgeons during my operation," she said.

The 35-year-old had reconstruction during her mastectomy of the left breast on May 28. "Surgeon Liao told me before the operation if my nipple tested free of cancer cells I could have the reconstruction. I was quite upset then," recalled Chun, who is married with no children.

"My husband comforted me saying my health, rather than complete breasts, is what he cared about the most. He said he would love and stay with me no matter what," she recalled, unable to hold back tears.

"To me, life is as cruel as it is tender. I am the lucky one among the unlucky."

Having the surgery stitches removed, she now dared to see herself naked in the mirror.

"My husband sometimes stood beside me, whispering in my ear 'you are beautiful'," she said.

Jiang Hua, chairman of the cosmetic surgery branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, said reconstructive surgeries had increased by 30 percent annually in recent years and numbered several thousand each year now.

The surgery is important for women to achieve a sense of physical completeness and mental comfort, he said. "Without exception, women shed tears over the loss of their breasts after a mastectomy."

Like Liao, Jiang also called for closer partnerships between breast cancer and cosmetic surgeons to allow more patients to have complete breasts.

Currently, less than 5 percent of patients opt for reconstructive surgery, according to Jiang.

"A comprehensive treatment approach centered on the individual needs to be implemented to better help breast cancer patients heal and return to normal life and society in a good state," she said.

Surgeon Liao Ning receives a patient at work. [Photo by TANG YANJUN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Rising epidemic

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among Chinese women, with its incidence growing by around 4 percent annually, higher than the global average, according to Xu Binghe, a leading breast cancer specialist at the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Also, the onset of the increasing incidences of breast cancer, compared with other cancers, starts at a younger age, around 30, and peaks at around 55, he said.

In 2015, roughly 304,000 women in China were diagnosed with breast cancer, accounting for 17 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer cases among women, according to the latest statistics from the Chinese National Central Cancer Registry.

In that year, 70,000 people died from breast cancer, accounting for roughly 8 percent of total cancer deaths, it reported.

Fortunately, breast cancer patients have a five-year survival rate of more than 83 percent, far higher than those with other cancers, said Chen Wanqing, director of the registry. Currently, the overall five-year survival rate nationally for all types of cancer is 40 percent.

The overall rate for breast cancer in developed countries is 91 percent, he said.

Chen blamed factors such as low rates of early detection and poor treatment for late-stage sufferers for the gap.

Liao advocates constant international cooperation, particularly with the US, to combat breast cancer and better serve patients.

The 2019 China-US Summit Forum on Breast Cancer will open today in Guangzhou, with hundreds of top breast cancer experts from the two countries.

"Such academic exchanges and cooperation will be of mutual benefits for both sides and represent the start of wider and deeper collaboration in the future to better contain breast cancer," she said.

Xu Binghe agreed and called for strengthened early screening programs and enhanced patient access to all necessary cancer treatments, including radiation, in China to improve treatment outcome.

"That's in line with global best practice," he said.

He said breast cancer was likely to be the first curable cancer type, citing existing scientific evidence.

"Even late-stage breast cancer might, in the future, be treated just like a chronic condition, rather than a terminal disease," he said.

Liao summed up, "Assuring patients that they will receive the best treatment possible and not be affected in later life is also the responsibility of us doctors."

Currently, no more than 20 percent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a very early stage in China. [Photo by ZHAO JIN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Treatment shifts from disease-focused approach to a patient-centered one

After doctors removed a cancerous tumor from her right breast, Dai Lifang, 37, woke up from the induced anesthesia and immediately explored the affected area with her hand.

"When I woke up, I touched my right breast. It was still there," she said. "I felt so relieved. It was almost the same as before, except for the little, 10-centimeter horizontal scar."

The surgery Dai underwent earlier this month offers new hope for women with breast cancer. It means that for many women, a key part of their bodies-one closely tied to their self-image-can remain intact.

As surgical procedures have advanced, cancer treatments have shifted more to a patient-centered approach from a disease-centered one, according to Liao Ning, Dai's surgeon and the head of the breast cancer center at the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences and Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

"As a woman myself, I understand what complete and full breasts mean for a woman's self-esteem and sometimes their intimate relationships," said Liao, who was trained in Germany.

Mastectomy, the removal of all or part of a breast, has long been the norm for certain breast cancers that have not yet spread throughout the body.

"I have seen young patients in their 30s who no longer had sex with their husbands after a mastectomy. The man lost his desire for the wife," Liao said. "That would hurt the woman's feelings badly and impact the treatment outcome over the long run."

On June 7, China celebrated Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional event to remember ancient poet Qu Yuan.

For Dai, there was something more to celebrate during the holiday. She was released from hospital and received new hope for life. She was cancer-free and still "complete".

Women in Henan province receive free screening for breast and cervical cancers. [Photo by CHENG ZHUANYI/FOR CHINA DAILY]

She's considering cosmetic procedures later to conceal the scar. "I am still young and the breast is necessary to my body and to my pride as a woman," she said.

Liao, the surgeon, said Chinese women with breast cancer naturally want to know if their breasts can be preserved. For some cancers, the answer is yes.

Breast-conserving surgery aims to remove only the cancer while leaving as much normal breast as possible. How much of the breast is removed depends on factors such as the location and size of the tumor.

But not all patients are right candidates, Liao said. It's usually an option for an early-stage patient.

In most cases the patient will need radiation after the surgery to prevent the cancer's return. Full mastectomies are less likely to require radiation afterward. The decision involves balancing many factors.

"As long as the cancer won't come back and I can keep my breast, I don't mind radiation at all," Dai said. She had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

To assure the patients of a quality life, Liao has been widely promoting breast-conserving surgery, particularly for younger patients with early stages of breast cancer.

Liao and her colleagues performed about 350 breast-conserving surgeries last year, accounting for 25 percent of all breast cancer surgeries at the center.

"Follow-up radiation therapy is necessary as it helps reduce the chance of relapse by two-thirds," said Chen Mo, a surgeon at the center. More than 95 percent of the recipients there survive for more than five years.

Liao added that with follow-up radiation therapy, "survival chances equal that of a mastectomy".

Other major breast cancer centers in top cities like Beijing and Shanghai have found similar outcomes but nationally it is a different story, with less than 10 percent of breast cancer surgeries performed conserving the breasts, far lower than an average of 63 percent in the United States.

In poor regions, such as the western parts of China, the rate can be as low as 3 percent, Liao said. "A lack of competent breast cancer specialists is mainly to be blamed for the gap," she said.

Wu Jiong, a leading breast cancer surgeon at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, said other factors such as limited access to radiation therapy and a lower detection rate of early breast cancers also play a role.

Currently, no more than 20 percent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a very early stage in China, according to the National Cancer Center, which follows the rates of cancer incidence, survival and mortality by collecting and analyzing data from about 370 cancer surveillance centers across the country.

Public awareness needs to be enhanced as well, Liao said.

Dai had no idea breast-conserving surgery was available until she was informed about her options at the hospital.

She discovered her cancer early this year when an ultrasound scan detected a tumor measuring 1.1 centimeters in diameter in her right breast during government-funded free breast cancer screening at a community clinic.

"It was hard to believe at first because I could feel nothing wrong with my breast," she recalled. "But now I kind of feel lucky. I am the only one of the six patients at the hospital ward who is getting the breast-conserving surgery."

Liao said that for younger patients in their 30s: "I strongly recommend breast-conserving surgery if her condition permits. They still have long way to go in their life."

But she also stressed that life and health is the top priority and cannot be compromised. "We follow strict clinical indications in deciding the surgery options."

For instance, an early-stage patient would still receive a mastectomy if she tested positive for breast cancer-causing gene mutations, which indicate a high possibility of relapse.

Moreover, social and economic factors have to be considered before making a treatment decision-for example, whether the patient can afford the extra costs of radiation therapy, usually ranging from 40,000-80,000 yuan ($6,000-$12,000) and whether she can access following-up intervention as needed, Liao added.

A doctor checks CT scans. [Photo by LIU HAIYUN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Reconstruction

Shao Zhimin, director of the breast surgery section of the Shanghai Cancer Center said there are various ways to "retain completeness"-for example, breast reconstruction, which builds the look and shape of the breasts.

"Our team focuses not only on the long-term survival of the patients but their social and psychological demands," Shao said.

To achieve a patient-centered treatment, Liao said, "it must be a multi-disciplinary team (MDT)".

Chun Li, another patient of Liao, was impressed by the MDT approach. "There were four doctors including the breast cancer and cosmetic surgeons during my operation," she said.

The 35-year-old had reconstruction during her mastectomy of the left breast on May 28. "Surgeon Liao told me before the operation if my nipple tested free of cancer cells I could have the reconstruction. I was quite upset then," recalled Chun, who is married with no children.

"My husband comforted me saying my health, rather than complete breasts, is what he cared about the most. He said he would love and stay with me no matter what," she recalled, unable to hold back tears.

"To me, life is as cruel as it is tender. I am the lucky one among the unlucky."

Having the surgery stitches removed, she now dared to see herself naked in the mirror.

"My husband sometimes stood beside me, whispering in my ear 'you are beautiful'," she said.

Jiang Hua, chairman of the cosmetic surgery branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, said reconstructive surgeries had increased by 30 percent annually in recent years and numbered several thousand each year now.

The surgery is important for women to achieve a sense of physical completeness and mental comfort, he said. "Without exception, women shed tears over the loss of their breasts after a mastectomy."

Like Liao, Jiang also called for closer partnerships between breast cancer and cosmetic surgeons to allow more patients to have complete breasts.

Currently, less than 5 percent of patients opt for reconstructive surgery, according to Jiang.

"A comprehensive treatment approach centered on the individual needs to be implemented to better help breast cancer patients heal and return to normal life and society in a good state," she said.

Surgeon Liao Ning receives a patient at work. [Photo by TANG YANJUN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Rising epidemic

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among Chinese women, with its incidence growing by around 4 percent annually, higher than the global average, according to Xu Binghe, a leading breast cancer specialist at the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Also, the onset of the increasing incidences of breast cancer, compared with other cancers, starts at a younger age, around 30, and peaks at around 55, he said.

In 2015, roughly 304,000 women in China were diagnosed with breast cancer, accounting for 17 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer cases among women, according to the latest statistics from the Chinese National Central Cancer Registry.

In that year, 70,000 people died from breast cancer, accounting for roughly 8 percent of total cancer deaths, it reported.

Fortunately, breast cancer patients have a five-year survival rate of more than 83 percent, far higher than those with other cancers, said Chen Wanqing, director of the registry. Currently, the overall five-year survival rate nationally for all types of cancer is 40 percent.

The overall rate for breast cancer in developed countries is 91 percent, he said.

Chen blamed factors such as low rates of early detection and poor treatment for late-stage sufferers for the gap.

Liao advocates constant international cooperation, particularly with the US, to combat breast cancer and better serve patients.

The 2019 China-US Summit Forum on Breast Cancer will open today in Guangzhou, with hundreds of top breast cancer experts from the two countries.

"Such academic exchanges and cooperation will be of mutual benefits for both sides and represent the start of wider and deeper collaboration in the future to better contain breast cancer," she said.

Xu Binghe agreed and called for strengthened early screening programs and enhanced patient access to all necessary cancer treatments, including radiation, in China to improve treatment outcome.

"That's in line with global best practice," he said.

He said breast cancer was likely to be the first curable cancer type, citing existing scientific evidence.

"Even late-stage breast cancer might, in the future, be treated just like a chronic condition, rather than a terminal disease," he said.

Liao summed up, "Assuring patients that they will receive the best treatment possible and not be affected in later life is also the responsibility of us doctors."

Employees of a health regulation team seize drugs and surgical instruments at an illegal plastic surgery institution in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on June 18. [Photo by MA ZHAO/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Shoddy operators will be publicly outed under a planned evaluation system of plastic surgery providers in China, the National Health Commission said on June 18.

The commission said the Chinese Association of Plastics and Aesthetics is conducting research to help establish a system that would allocate or withdraw credit points to cover medical institutions that perform plastic surgeries.

A similar system covering management is also being looked at for the entire medical sector, which would also see a "blacklist" of discredited service providers published, the commission said.

Associations and organizations covering medical services would be encouraged to establish standards and regulations to help authorities supervise the services. Patient groups would also be included.

The Chinese Association of Plastics and Aesthetics did not answer calls from China Daily on Wednesday.

Tian Long, head of a special committee for male reproductive organ plastic surgery at the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, said irregularities were rampant in the sector, such as surgeries by uncertified doctors and the use of unapproved drugs during surgery.

"I think evaluation of a medical institution will be based on multiple parties, including medical experts, health authorities and patients," he said. "All medical institutions will have to consider the consequences of being discredited, which will lead to loss of customers, and irregularities such as charging unfairly high prices for services may decrease."

With personal beauty becoming more prized in China, demand for plastic surgeries, including on reproductive organs, is increasing quickly. This has created challenges for effective regulation, Tian said.

A one-year national campaign was launched between May 2017 and April last year to fight irregularities in the plastic surgery sector.

Nearly 1,900 suspects were detained by police and 728 sites were closed for manufacturing fake drugs with a value of nearly 700 million yuan ($101 million).

The commission inspected more than 40,000 hospitals and clinics that provided plastic surgery services, and ordered 31 suspended operations due to violations. Another 28 had their permits to perform plastic surgery revoked.

Drug regulators across China inspected more than 103,000 drug and medical equipment businesses, and ordered 184 of them to suspend business due to violations such as producing fake or substandard products.

Market regulators ordered 51 medical institutions to suspend operations for violations such as false advertising.

A doctor provides free consultations in Kongpo'gyada county, Nyingchi, Tibet autonomous region. Provided To China Daily

Free programs are paying dividends for local people. Wang Xiaoyu reports from Nyingchi, Tibet autonomous region.

Editor's note: This is the ninth story in a series about the Tibet autonomous region, focusing on the area's history, poverty alleviation measures, healthcare, and the cultural and business sectors.

Last month, a surprisingly late spring snowfall dusted the home of Sherab Dorje in Kongpo'gyada county, Tibet autonomous region. However, that was the least of his family's worries as the 4-year-old, whose cheeks were flushed after days with a high fever, suddenly collapsed and began convulsing on the floor.

He was rushed to the local hospital, where he received medication to reduce the fever; a quick fix to relieve his potentially life-threatening breathing difficulties.

However, the treatment could not prevent the problem from recurring. While it was the third time that month that the Tibetan boy had experienced seizures, he has had convulsions since he was less than 12 months old.

Eventually, the affliction is likely to be tackled at the roots, because Sherab Dorje recently saw a doctor from Beijing who was visiting the county for two days to provide residents with free consultations and treatment.

Communities across Tibet have benefited from wide-ranging medical assistance programs that have been introduced in the past few decades.

The most notable is a project initiated in 2015 by several government bodies, including the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the predecessor of the National Health Commission.

It has sent four groups totaling 660 medical professionals to eight health institutions with the aim of improving the healthcare infrastructure and establishing well-trained medical teams.

By the start of last month, people in Tibet had access to more than 1,000 treatments that were previously unavailable in the region, and nearly 850 advanced treatment methods or medical technologies had been introduced, according to Wang Yunting, deputy director of the regional health commission.

Moreover, six large cities are now home to at least one top-tier hospital each, he added.

Medical assistance has also been provided in smaller towns and villages tucked away on the massive Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, as volunteer programs launched by social institutions have joined the efforts to improve people's well-being and foster greater health awareness.

Yuan Shuihua, president of the Beijing Junyi Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, takes a woman's blood pressure in Kongpo'gyada. Yu Bijia / For China Daily

Free treatment

Yuan Shuihua, president of the Beijing Junyi Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, was one of 16 doctors who volunteered to provide services in Kongpo'gyada.

He led Sherab Dorje's uncle from the bustling consulting room, and speaking in a measured tone intended to help the man - who has limited understanding of Mandarin - better understand, he explained the possible causes of the boy's seizures and suggested suitable therapies.

"The key is to identify the cause of the convulsions, rather than handing out pills to curb acute symptoms," Yuan told Sherab Dorje's uncle. "The root could be as simple as a nutritional deficiency, such as a lack of vitamin B, which can easily be cured by taking supplements.

"However, in the case of a genetic flaw or issues associated with brain development, he will require a more-holistic treatment plan," Yuan added as Sherab Dorje's uncle nodded wistfully.

In the consulting room, another doctor took Sherab Dorje's pulse and blood pressure, then he handed the boy a pamphlet that listed health tips based on his condition.

Like Sherab Dorje, most of the patients at the hospital were given free medication, and the visiting medics read the results of their scans and tests. The doctors also discussed the patients' illnesses with them to provide deeper understanding of the problem and the treatments available.

"After decades of channeling medical resources from the more-developed regions into Tibet, it's becoming increasingly important to reshape community norms that equate falling ill with feeling pain," Yuan said.

Medical workers setting out for the county share a unanimous observation: to further improve the well-being of people in Tibet, it is vital to foster health awareness, rather than simply giving out medication to provide a onetime alleviation of discomfort.

Medical practitioners bring food and medication to residents of Chushul, Lhasa, Tibet. Jin Liangkuai / Xinhua

Rising life expectancy

According to the most recent data from the National Health Commission, the average life expectancy of people in Tibet is 70.6 years, a giant leap from the 35.5 years recorded in the 1960s.

Wang Yunting, deputy director of the regional health commission, said the influx of medical professionals has greatly eased the strain on resources in the region, where a shortage of doctors and nurses, limited provision of medication, and outdated treatment methods have driven down standards.

For example, Kongpo'gyada has just one county-level hospital, a three-story, lime-shaded building covering 22,000 square meters, located at its center.

For many years, the hospital was so poorly equipped that operations could not be performed on-site. However, in 2017, a group of experienced doctors arrived from Zhongshan, Guangdong province, about 3,300 kilometers away in South China.

Chosang, 30, a surgeon at the hospital, beamed as he recalled the first operation performed in the county, an appendectomy. At the time, he was a resident at a clinic in a small village nestled deep in the mountains.

"News that the first six or seven operations at the county hospital had been successful spread quickly and pumped up the spirits of those of us who worked in grassroots healthcare," he said, adding that the surgeries boosted the local healthcare network.

Last year alone, more than 300 operations were performed at the county hospital, mostly appendectomies and removals of kidney and gallbladder stones, according to Chosang, who like many Tibetans only uses one name.

"There are two other surgeons at the hospital capable of performing these operations. It's a rather small team, but we have coped fine so far," he said.

Gong Xionghui, associate chief physician at Peking University's Shougang Hospital in Beijing, also joined the two-day medical assistance program at the hospital in Kongpo'gyada.

He said that given the poor equipment and low staffing levels at the county hospital, a sensible approach would be to allow easy-to-master surgical techniques to take root there, while more-complex cases are sent to larger hospitals in other prefectures.

"I believe that surgical departments at county-level hospitals in Tibet should first and foremost address acute and prevalent health issues. In Kongpo'gyada, they have clearly achieved this goal," Gong said.

A volunteer doctor checks a child's ear in Lhasa. He Penglei/China News Service

Raising awareness

Calls to raise health awareness have grown stronger in recent years as the infrastructure has been built up and the capabilities of regional medical personnel have advanced rapidly.

Chosang was born and raised in Lhasa, the regional capital, which enjoys first-class healthcare services. Having traversed many mountain trails to treat patients in remote towns and villages, he believes that too little attention has been paid to overall health in ordinary households, despite steady improvements in medical services.

"For example, someone who frequently senses a flickering pain in his bladder - a sign of stones - usually ignores it, provided there is no sustained adverse reaction and it does not interfere with his daily life," he said.

Meanwhile, Gong met dozens of patients in the county who rejected his suggestion to undergo medical tests that are key to identifying the causes of their illnesses, mainly because they were unwilling to travel to other parts of the region.

"Limited access to up-to-date facilities certainly plays a role in their reluctance, because some tests, such as MRI scans and gastroscopy, are not available at the county hospital," he said.

"But it certainly does not hurt for them to be aware of these medical technologies and their significance in helping to sharpen diagnosis. So, when conditions allow, they might find it easier to follow another doctor's advice to spend money and time on crucial checkups."

Chosang said, "The most common illnesses in Tibet are chronic conditions, and to tackle them, healthy lifestyle choices are almost as important as treatment plans."

Tibet is renowned for its harsh living environment. The average altitude is 4,000 meters above sea level, resulting in low oxygen levels and mercurial weather that primarily disrupt heart and lung functions.

Even the mildest areas, including the southeastern city of Nyingchi where the rich foliage pumps out extra oxygen, have high rates of coronary heart disease and high blood pressure, according to the local government.

The lifestyle also complicates health issues. The diet, which features large amounts of yak butter and meat, causes cardiovascular problems, while stones in the kidneys and gallbladder are prevalent as a result of low water intake.

"We have already launched some educational events targeting common disorders to urge local residents to pay attention to small changes, such as eating more vegetables while cutting down on yak butter and salt," Chosang said.

Back to normal

Garab, a retired teacher, is one of a growing number of people who have benefited from taking those suggestions to heart.

"My life hung by a thread because of worsening coronary artery disease. Following heart bypass surgery at the hospital in Nyingchi in 2013, I began to eat more fruit and vegetables," the 67-year-old Kongpo'gyada native said.

"I am always mindful of the doctors' words, and I have cut my meat and butter consumption bit by bit. It was easier than I had imagined."

After the bypass, Garab was relieved to find that when she walked across the bridge that spans the Nyang River which winds through the county and ascended three flights of stairs at the hospital, her blood pressure stayed within the normal limits.

"It's a testament to my conscious efforts to stay fit and healthy," she said. "High blood pressure and heart disease are prevalent in my neighborhood. I am no doctor, but I want to share my experiences to help more people eradicate these illnesses."

A doctor provides free consultations in Kongpo'gyada county, Nyingchi, Tibet autonomous region. Provided To China Daily

Free programs are paying dividends for local people. Wang Xiaoyu reports from Nyingchi, Tibet autonomous region.

Editor's note: This is the ninth story in a series about the Tibet autonomous region, focusing on the area's history, poverty alleviation measures, healthcare, and the cultural and business sectors.

Last month, a surprisingly late spring snowfall dusted the home of Sherab Dorje in Kongpo'gyada county, Tibet autonomous region. However, that was the least of his family's worries as the 4-year-old, whose cheeks were flushed after days with a high fever, suddenly collapsed and began convulsing on the floor.

He was rushed to the local hospital, where he received medication to reduce the fever; a quick fix to relieve his potentially life-threatening breathing difficulties.

However, the treatment could not prevent the problem from recurring. While it was the third time that month that the Tibetan boy had experienced seizures, he has had convulsions since he was less than 12 months old.

Eventually, the affliction is likely to be tackled at the roots, because Sherab Dorje recently saw a doctor from Beijing who was visiting the county for two days to provide residents with free consultations and treatment.

Communities across Tibet have benefited from wide-ranging medical assistance programs that have been introduced in the past few decades.

The most notable is a project initiated in 2015 by several government bodies, including the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the predecessor of the National Health Commission.

It has sent four groups totaling 660 medical professionals to eight health institutions with the aim of improving the healthcare infrastructure and establishing well-trained medical teams.

By the start of last month, people in Tibet had access to more than 1,000 treatments that were previously unavailable in the region, and nearly 850 advanced treatment methods or medical technologies had been introduced, according to Wang Yunting, deputy director of the regional health commission.

Moreover, six large cities are now home to at least one top-tier hospital each, he added.

Medical assistance has also been provided in smaller towns and villages tucked away on the massive Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, as volunteer programs launched by social institutions have joined the efforts to improve people's well-being and foster greater health awareness.

Yuan Shuihua, president of the Beijing Junyi Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, takes a woman's blood pressure in Kongpo'gyada. Yu Bijia / For China Daily

Free treatment

Yuan Shuihua, president of the Beijing Junyi Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, was one of 16 doctors who volunteered to provide services in Kongpo'gyada.

He led Sherab Dorje's uncle from the bustling consulting room, and speaking in a measured tone intended to help the man - who has limited understanding of Mandarin - better understand, he explained the possible causes of the boy's seizures and suggested suitable therapies.

"The key is to identify the cause of the convulsions, rather than handing out pills to curb acute symptoms," Yuan told Sherab Dorje's uncle. "The root could be as simple as a nutritional deficiency, such as a lack of vitamin B, which can easily be cured by taking supplements.

"However, in the case of a genetic flaw or issues associated with brain development, he will require a more-holistic treatment plan," Yuan added as Sherab Dorje's uncle nodded wistfully.

In the consulting room, another doctor took Sherab Dorje's pulse and blood pressure, then he handed the boy a pamphlet that listed health tips based on his condition.

Like Sherab Dorje, most of the patients at the hospital were given free medication, and the visiting medics read the results of their scans and tests. The doctors also discussed the patients' illnesses with them to provide deeper understanding of the problem and the treatments available.

"After decades of channeling medical resources from the more-developed regions into Tibet, it's becoming increasingly important to reshape community norms that equate falling ill with feeling pain," Yuan said.

Medical workers setting out for the county share a unanimous observation: to further improve the well-being of people in Tibet, it is vital to foster health awareness, rather than simply giving out medication to provide a onetime alleviation of discomfort.

Medical practitioners bring food and medication to residents of Chushul, Lhasa, Tibet. Jin Liangkuai / Xinhua

Rising life expectancy

According to the most recent data from the National Health Commission, the average life expectancy of people in Tibet is 70.6 years, a giant leap from the 35.5 years recorded in the 1960s.

Wang Yunting, deputy director of the regional health commission, said the influx of medical professionals has greatly eased the strain on resources in the region, where a shortage of doctors and nurses, limited provision of medication, and outdated treatment methods have driven down standards.

For example, Kongpo'gyada has just one county-level hospital, a three-story, lime-shaded building covering 22,000 square meters, located at its center.

For many years, the hospital was so poorly equipped that operations could not be performed on-site. However, in 2017, a group of experienced doctors arrived from Zhongshan, Guangdong province, about 3,300 kilometers away in South China.

Chosang, 30, a surgeon at the hospital, beamed as he recalled the first operation performed in the county, an appendectomy. At the time, he was a resident at a clinic in a small village nestled deep in the mountains.

"News that the first six or seven operations at the county hospital had been successful spread quickly and pumped up the spirits of those of us who worked in grassroots healthcare," he said, adding that the surgeries boosted the local healthcare network.

Last year alone, more than 300 operations were performed at the county hospital, mostly appendectomies and removals of kidney and gallbladder stones, according to Chosang, who like many Tibetans only uses one name.

"There are two other surgeons at the hospital capable of performing these operations. It's a rather small team, but we have coped fine so far," he said.

Gong Xionghui, associate chief physician at Peking University's Shougang Hospital in Beijing, also joined the two-day medical assistance program at the hospital in Kongpo'gyada.

He said that given the poor equipment and low staffing levels at the county hospital, a sensible approach would be to allow easy-to-master surgical techniques to take root there, while more-complex cases are sent to larger hospitals in other prefectures.

"I believe that surgical departments at county-level hospitals in Tibet should first and foremost address acute and prevalent health issues. In Kongpo'gyada, they have clearly achieved this goal," Gong said.

A volunteer doctor checks a child's ear in Lhasa. He Penglei/China News Service

Raising awareness

Calls to raise health awareness have grown stronger in recent years as the infrastructure has been built up and the capabilities of regional medical personnel have advanced rapidly.

Chosang was born and raised in Lhasa, the regional capital, which enjoys first-class healthcare services. Having traversed many mountain trails to treat patients in remote towns and villages, he believes that too little attention has been paid to overall health in ordinary households, despite steady improvements in medical services.

"For example, someone who frequently senses a flickering pain in his bladder - a sign of stones - usually ignores it, provided there is no sustained adverse reaction and it does not interfere with his daily life," he said.

Meanwhile, Gong met dozens of patients in the county who rejected his suggestion to undergo medical tests that are key to identifying the causes of their illnesses, mainly because they were unwilling to travel to other parts of the region.

"Limited access to up-to-date facilities certainly plays a role in their reluctance, because some tests, such as MRI scans and gastroscopy, are not available at the county hospital," he said.

"But it certainly does not hurt for them to be aware of these medical technologies and their significance in helping to sharpen diagnosis. So, when conditions allow, they might find it easier to follow another doctor's advice to spend money and time on crucial checkups."

Chosang said, "The most common illnesses in Tibet are chronic conditions, and to tackle them, healthy lifestyle choices are almost as important as treatment plans."

Tibet is renowned for its harsh living environment. The average altitude is 4,000 meters above sea level, resulting in low oxygen levels and mercurial weather that primarily disrupt heart and lung functions.

Even the mildest areas, including the southeastern city of Nyingchi where the rich foliage pumps out extra oxygen, have high rates of coronary heart disease and high blood pressure, according to the local government.

The lifestyle also complicates health issues. The diet, which features large amounts of yak butter and meat, causes cardiovascular problems, while stones in the kidneys and gallbladder are prevalent as a result of low water intake.

"We have already launched some educational events targeting common disorders to urge local residents to pay attention to small changes, such as eating more vegetables while cutting down on yak butter and salt," Chosang said.

Back to normal

Garab, a retired teacher, is one of a growing number of people who have benefited from taking those suggestions to heart.

"My life hung by a thread because of worsening coronary artery disease. Following heart bypass surgery at the hospital in Nyingchi in 2013, I began to eat more fruit and vegetables," the 67-year-old Kongpo'gyada native said.

"I am always mindful of the doctors' words, and I have cut my meat and butter consumption bit by bit. It was easier than I had imagined."

After the bypass, Garab was relieved to find that when she walked across the bridge that spans the Nyang River which winds through the county and ascended three flights of stairs at the hospital, her blood pressure stayed within the normal limits.

"It's a testament to my conscious efforts to stay fit and healthy," she said. "High blood pressure and heart disease are prevalent in my neighborhood. I am no doctor, but I want to share my experiences to help more people eradicate these illnesses."

People with sleep problems consult doctors in Beijing on World Sleep Day, March 20, 2019. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - Over 90 percent of Chinese patients said they are generally satisfied with the medical services they received, according to a recent report.

The report revealed that the overall satisfaction rates of outpatients and inpatients were 91 percent and 96.7 percent, respectively, in 2018, according to the Health News.

The report was based on a survey jointly carried out by the public health school of the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) and expert teams from over 30 provincial-level regions.

The survey program started at the end of 2015. In 2018, the program mainly focused on the implementation and results of measures to improve the hospitals' services.

Informatization measures in the hospitals surveyed have gained recognition from patients as the proportion of online registration has reached 60.7 percent in 2018 from 34.3 percent in 2016, said the newspaper.

Progress has been made to address problems in healthcare accessibility and affordability, Liu Yuanli, dean of the PUMC public health school, was quoted as saying.

Over 60 percent of pharmacists said they found the relations between doctors and patients in their hospitals are improving.

However, Liu also noted that outpatients in the country's western regions showed a lower satisfaction rate than those in the eastern and central regions.

Nobel laureate Tu Youyou at her home in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

Artemisinin will continue to be the priority drug for the treatment of malaria, despite signs of drug resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) in some countries, a Nobel Prize winner said.

Improvement in the existing therapies have proved effective in eliminating anti-malarial drug resistance, including extending the course of a therapy from three days to five or seven days, and replacing partner drugs against which parasites have developed resistance in ACTs with other drugs, Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday, quoting the research team led by Tu Youyou.

Tu, a researcher at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, won the 2015 Nobel Prize for the discovery of artemisinin.

Increased time for parasite clearance in patients treated with artemisinin-based combination therapies in some countries including Cambodia and Thailand over the past two decades has led to worries over drug resistance problems of the ACTs, the most effective malaria treatment recommended by the World Health Organization.

Tu said adjusted ACTs will continue to be efficient in malaria treatment over a long time, and with their low treatment cost, they are particularly useful in African countries, which have the biggest number of cases.

China has seen decreases in TB morbidity in recent years. It now aims to lower its rate of morbidity and mortality to under 55 in 100,000 and three in 100,000 respectively by 2022. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- The Chinese government has unveiled an action plan to reinforce the prevention and control against tuberculosis (TB) amid global efforts to end the epidemic.

The plan, which covers the period from 2019 to 2022, specified responsibilities of government agencies including those in charge of medical treatment, education, medical insurance and science and technology and encouraged concerted efforts from various parties in society.

Actions would be taken to target key groups and areas, curb the spread of drug-resistant TB and improve capabilities of disease control and research, it said.

The National Health Commission will sign liability agreements with provincial areas with morbidity rates exceeding 55 in 100,000 to better supervise the implementation of prevention and control measures, according to the plan.

China has seen decreases in TB morbidity in recent years. It now aims to lower its rate of morbidity and mortality to under 55 in 100,000 and three in 100,000 respectively by 2022.

China has seen decreases in TB morbidity in recent years. It now aims to lower its rate of morbidity and mortality to under 55 in 100,000 and three in 100,000 respectively by 2022. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- The Chinese government has unveiled an action plan to reinforce the prevention and control against tuberculosis (TB) amid global efforts to end the epidemic.

The plan, which covers the period from 2019 to 2022, specified responsibilities of government agencies including those in charge of medical treatment, education, medical insurance and science and technology and encouraged concerted efforts from various parties in society.

Actions would be taken to target key groups and areas, curb the spread of drug-resistant TB and improve capabilities of disease control and research, it said.

The National Health Commission will sign liability agreements with provincial areas with morbidity rates exceeding 55 in 100,000 to better supervise the implementation of prevention and control measures, according to the plan.

China has seen decreases in TB morbidity in recent years. It now aims to lower its rate of morbidity and mortality to under 55 in 100,000 and three in 100,000 respectively by 2022.

China has seen decreases in TB morbidity in recent years. It now aims to lower its rate of morbidity and mortality to under 55 in 100,000 and three in 100,000 respectively by 2022. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- The Chinese government has unveiled an action plan to reinforce the prevention and control against tuberculosis (TB) amid global efforts to end the epidemic.

The plan, which covers the period from 2019 to 2022, specified responsibilities of government agencies including those in charge of medical treatment, education, medical insurance and science and technology and encouraged concerted efforts from various parties in society.

Actions would be taken to target key groups and areas, curb the spread of drug-resistant TB and improve capabilities of disease control and research, it said.

The National Health Commission will sign liability agreements with provincial areas with morbidity rates exceeding 55 in 100,000 to better supervise the implementation of prevention and control measures, according to the plan.

China has seen decreases in TB morbidity in recent years. It now aims to lower its rate of morbidity and mortality to under 55 in 100,000 and three in 100,000 respectively by 2022.

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, attends the health sub-forum of the 11th straits forum in Xiamen on June 15. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

The health sectors of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan should deepen  integrative development, said Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission.

Wang made the comment at the sub-forum on health of the 11th Straits Forum held in Xiamen, Fujian province, on June 15. 

Cross-Straits health cooperation will continue to be stable, he said, and calling for people-to-people exchanges and cooperative results sharing in the field.

The Chinese mainland will make full efforts to promote the Healthy China strategy, integrate medical resources and deepen the linkage reform on medical insurance, health and medicine circulation systems, according to Wang.

The health poverty alleviation, prevention and control of major diseases, public health, balanced population development, healthy ageing and traditional Chinese medicine are also important health work that the Chinese mainland strives to improve, according to Wang.

The health sub-forum discussed nine topics including medical quality management, grassroots health development and rational clinical use of drugs.

Over 1,200 representatives from the health sectors of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan attended the sub-forum. 

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission, meets with Gan Kim Yong, his Singaporean counterpart on June 13 in Beijing. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

China and Singapore agreed to strengthen cooperation in medical and health system reform, traditional medicines and healthy ageing, according to the two countries' health ministers.

The two health ministers met in Beijing on June 13.

The cooperation is expected to contribute to people's health, the development of the Belt and Road Initiative and building a community with a shared future for mankind, according to Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission and Gan Kim Yong, his Singaporean counterpart.

Singapore is willing to keep promoting health cooperation and exchanges with China, said Gan.

The two countries have shared rich cooperative results in areas such as medical security, hospital management and nurses training, said Ma, adding that they also had pragmatic cooperation in traditional medicines under several cooperative frameworks including WHO and China-ASEAN.

Gan spoke highly of the two sides' cooperative results and China's medical reform.

The Singaporean health minister also outlined the nation's health reforms and ways to tackle ageing of population.

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission, meets with Gan Kim Yong, his Singaporean counterpart on June 13 in Beijing. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

China and Singapore agreed to strengthen cooperation in medical and health system reform, traditional medicines and healthy ageing, according to the two countries' health ministers.

The two health ministers met in Beijing on June 13.

The cooperation is expected to contribute to people's health, the development of the Belt and Road Initiative and building a community with a shared future for mankind, according to Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission and Gan Kim Yong, his Singaporean counterpart.

Singapore is willing to keep promoting health cooperation and exchanges with China, said Gan.

The two countries have shared rich cooperative results in areas such as medical security, hospital management and nurses training, said Ma, adding that they also had pragmatic cooperation in traditional medicines under several cooperative frameworks including WHO and China-ASEAN.

Gan spoke highly of the two sides' cooperative results and China's medical reform.

The Singaporean health minister also outlined the nation's health reforms and ways to tackle ageing of population.

The government allocated 270.5 billion yuan ($39.26 billion) of subsidies directly to public hospitals in 2018, up from 84.9 billion yuan in 2010, said Zhu Hongbiao, a senior official with the National Health Commission, at a press conference.

However, government funds only accounted for about 10 percent of the total revenue of public hospitals by the end of 2018, Zhu said.

Public hospitals in China used to have three main sources of revenue — service charges, additive charges on medicines and direct government subsidies.

An ongoing nationwide reform on public hospitals, which was unveiled in 2017, aimed to remove the additive charge on medicine.

"The revenue of public hospitals will depend on service charges," Zhu said.

Local health departments have explored various ways to reform the pricing of service charges so as to make it affordable for the public, he said.

They were asked to adopt a gradual approach in raising medical service charge, including the fees of diagnosis, surgery, rehabilitation, nursing and traditional Chinese medicine, according to Zhu.

The raised service charge will be included in the reimbursement of medical insurance schemes so as not to increase the cost, he said, adding that authorities will also work to lower the cost of examinations using large medical equipment.

The ongoing reform was also expected to improve the salary, welfare and working environment for hospital staff, he said.

The government allocated 270.5 billion yuan ($39.26 billion) of subsidies directly to public hospitals in 2018, up from 84.9 billion yuan in 2010, said Zhu Hongbiao, a senior official with the National Health Commission, at a press conference.

However, government funds only accounted for about 10 percent of the total revenue of public hospitals by the end of 2018, Zhu said.

Public hospitals in China used to have three main sources of revenue — service charges, additive charges on medicines and direct government subsidies.

An ongoing nationwide reform on public hospitals, which was unveiled in 2017, aimed to remove the additive charge on medicine.

"The revenue of public hospitals will depend on service charges," Zhu said.

Local health departments have explored various ways to reform the pricing of service charges so as to make it affordable for the public, he said.

They were asked to adopt a gradual approach in raising medical service charge, including the fees of diagnosis, surgery, rehabilitation, nursing and traditional Chinese medicine, according to Zhu.

The raised service charge will be included in the reimbursement of medical insurance schemes so as not to increase the cost, he said, adding that authorities will also work to lower the cost of examinations using large medical equipment.

The ongoing reform was also expected to improve the salary, welfare and working environment for hospital staff, he said.

The government allocated 270.5 billion yuan ($39.26 billion) of subsidies directly to public hospitals in 2018, up from 84.9 billion yuan in 2010, said Zhu Hongbiao, a senior official with the National Health Commission, at a press conference.

However, government funds only accounted for about 10 percent of the total revenue of public hospitals by the end of 2018, Zhu said.

Public hospitals in China used to have three main sources of revenue — service charges, additive charges on medicines and direct government subsidies.

An ongoing nationwide reform on public hospitals, which was unveiled in 2017, aimed to remove the additive charge on medicine.

"The revenue of public hospitals will depend on service charges," Zhu said.

Local health departments have explored various ways to reform the pricing of service charges so as to make it affordable for the public, he said.

They were asked to adopt a gradual approach in raising medical service charge, including the fees of diagnosis, surgery, rehabilitation, nursing and traditional Chinese medicine, according to Zhu.

The raised service charge will be included in the reimbursement of medical insurance schemes so as not to increase the cost, he said, adding that authorities will also work to lower the cost of examinations using large medical equipment.

The ongoing reform was also expected to improve the salary, welfare and working environment for hospital staff, he said.

A total of 21 model localities, including Chaoyang district in Beijing, were praised by the State Council General Office in May and will be financially rewarded, said Zhu Hongbiao, an official with the NHC, at a press conference.

The 21 praised localities have set examples in improving medical services and exploring innovative measures to strengthen hospital management, Zhu said.

They advanced reform with a keen sense of feasibility and provided experiences for deepening the comprehensive reform of public hospitals across the country, the official said.

In the past three years, a total of 99 localities have been praised.

A total of 21 model localities, including Chaoyang district in Beijing, were praised by the State Council General Office in May and will be financially rewarded, said Zhu Hongbiao, an official with the NHC, at a press conference.

The 21 praised localities have set examples in improving medical services and exploring innovative measures to strengthen hospital management, Zhu said.

They advanced reform with a keen sense of feasibility and provided experiences for deepening the comprehensive reform of public hospitals across the country, the official said.

In the past three years, a total of 99 localities have been praised.

A total of 21 model localities, including Chaoyang district in Beijing, were praised by the State Council General Office in May and will be financially rewarded, said Zhu Hongbiao, an official with the NHC, at a press conference.

The 21 praised localities have set examples in improving medical services and exploring innovative measures to strengthen hospital management, Zhu said.

They advanced reform with a keen sense of feasibility and provided experiences for deepening the comprehensive reform of public hospitals across the country, the official said.

In the past three years, a total of 99 localities have been praised.

Guan Huashi (center) discusses the compounds of gorgonian, a type of soft coral, with colleagues at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, Shandong province. CHINA DAILY

Eighty-year-old Guan Huashi is in constant pursuit of cures for human diseases, and his source is the ocean.

As one of the pioneers in marine pharmaceutical studies in China, Guan, a professor at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, Shandong province, had for the first time led a team that successfully developed the country's first marine drug, called PSS, in 1985.

The drug helps to treat cardiovascular diseases, those related to heart or blood vessels, and cerebrovascular diseases, which are those related to blood vessels supplying the brain.

The professor, also head of the Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, steered an independent research team that is developing two drugs. The drugs, derived from marine organisms and designed to cure two forms of cancer, are expected to enter clinical trials this year.

The latest breakthrough of Guan and his team is an Alzheimer's drug called GV-971, which is extracted from brown algae. The first phase of clinical trials has been completed.

The drug is aimed at patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's, a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gradually worsens over time, destroying thinking skills and the ability to carry out simple tasks. Independent animal experiments found that the drug can regulate the immune system, reduce neuroinflammation and improve cognition, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

"As a cradle of life, the ocean abounds in pharmacological potential," said Guan, also a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. "Products developed from marine sources can be of therapeutic value."

Guan's interest in marine pharmacology - a science that focuses on substances with active pharmacological properties present in marine species of plants and animals - was sparked by an unexpected discovery he made while conducting an experiment in a laboratory 40 years ago.

He found that a substance extracted from seaweed could help treat problems related to blood viscosity, which made him delve deeper into studying the potential of marine organisms in finding a cure for various human illnesses.

Guan majored in fisheries at the former Shandong Ocean College, the predecessor of Ocean University of China, from 1959 to 1964. After graduation, he was engaged in teaching and fishery research at his alma mater until the late 1970s.

During his childhood, Guan, who was born in Xiajin county in Shandong in 1939, loved to raise aquatic creatures such as fish, shrimps, crabs, turtles and tadpoles.

"Maybe my curiosity for creatures in water and my respect for rivers, lakes and seas when I was a child had some bearing on my career," said Guan, who spent a large part of his academic and professional life in Qingdao, a city known for marine technology.

When President Xi Jinping visited Qingdao in June last year, Guan told Xi about his dream to develop a "blue drugstore" for medicine in China, with blue implying the color of the sea. "We share the same dream," Xi said.

"Developing the marine economy and conducting research in marine sciences are important parts of the nation's strategy of rejuvenation," said Xi, adding that all-out efforts should be made in this direction.

According to Guan, the building of a "blue drugstore" would involve establishing a marine pharmaceutical database, setting up a public platform and applying the concepts of traditional Chinese medicine to modern medical science.

He plans to develop several new marine medicines in the next three to five years.

Guan's team has collaborated with dozens of research groups and more than 100 scientists from five countries.

In Guan's view, commercialization is a big step in turning his research findings into practical solutions. Therefore, he and his team maintain close ties with pharmaceutical companies.

In June last year, Guan's team signed an agreement with CP Pharmaceutical Group Qingdao for accelerating transformation of marine pharmaceutical research into commercial products.

In 1985, Guan's team joined hands with CP Pharmaceutical Group to develop the marine drug PSS.

Chen Yangsheng, the vice-president of CP Pharmaceutical Group Qingdao, said: "Currently, 13 marine drugs are on the market, recognized by medical and scientific communities worldwide. Three of these are manufactured by our company."

Qingdao is at the forefront of marine science and technology, said Wang Qingxian, secretary of the Qingdao committee of the Communist Party of China.

The coastal city is home to more than 30 percent of China's universities and research institutes in marine science and technology, as well as 50 percent of researchers and 70 percent of experts and scholars in the field.

"Qingdao is accelerating its efforts in high-quality marine sectors with a focus on economic transformation, efficient port service, opening-up process, technological innovation and ecological protection," Wang said.

Guan Huashi (center) discusses the compounds of gorgonian, a type of soft coral, with colleagues at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, Shandong province. CHINA DAILY

Eighty-year-old Guan Huashi is in constant pursuit of cures for human diseases, and his source is the ocean.

As one of the pioneers in marine pharmaceutical studies in China, Guan, a professor at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, Shandong province, had for the first time led a team that successfully developed the country's first marine drug, called PSS, in 1985.

The drug helps to treat cardiovascular diseases, those related to heart or blood vessels, and cerebrovascular diseases, which are those related to blood vessels supplying the brain.

The professor, also head of the Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, steered an independent research team that is developing two drugs. The drugs, derived from marine organisms and designed to cure two forms of cancer, are expected to enter clinical trials this year.

The latest breakthrough of Guan and his team is an Alzheimer's drug called GV-971, which is extracted from brown algae. The first phase of clinical trials has been completed.

The drug is aimed at patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's, a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gradually worsens over time, destroying thinking skills and the ability to carry out simple tasks. Independent animal experiments found that the drug can regulate the immune system, reduce neuroinflammation and improve cognition, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

"As a cradle of life, the ocean abounds in pharmacological potential," said Guan, also a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. "Products developed from marine sources can be of therapeutic value."

Guan's interest in marine pharmacology - a science that focuses on substances with active pharmacological properties present in marine species of plants and animals - was sparked by an unexpected discovery he made while conducting an experiment in a laboratory 40 years ago.

He found that a substance extracted from seaweed could help treat problems related to blood viscosity, which made him delve deeper into studying the potential of marine organisms in finding a cure for various human illnesses.

Guan majored in fisheries at the former Shandong Ocean College, the predecessor of Ocean University of China, from 1959 to 1964. After graduation, he was engaged in teaching and fishery research at his alma mater until the late 1970s.

During his childhood, Guan, who was born in Xiajin county in Shandong in 1939, loved to raise aquatic creatures such as fish, shrimps, crabs, turtles and tadpoles.

"Maybe my curiosity for creatures in water and my respect for rivers, lakes and seas when I was a child had some bearing on my career," said Guan, who spent a large part of his academic and professional life in Qingdao, a city known for marine technology.

When President Xi Jinping visited Qingdao in June last year, Guan told Xi about his dream to develop a "blue drugstore" for medicine in China, with blue implying the color of the sea. "We share the same dream," Xi said.

"Developing the marine economy and conducting research in marine sciences are important parts of the nation's strategy of rejuvenation," said Xi, adding that all-out efforts should be made in this direction.

According to Guan, the building of a "blue drugstore" would involve establishing a marine pharmaceutical database, setting up a public platform and applying the concepts of traditional Chinese medicine to modern medical science.

He plans to develop several new marine medicines in the next three to five years.

Guan's team has collaborated with dozens of research groups and more than 100 scientists from five countries.

In Guan's view, commercialization is a big step in turning his research findings into practical solutions. Therefore, he and his team maintain close ties with pharmaceutical companies.

In June last year, Guan's team signed an agreement with CP Pharmaceutical Group Qingdao for accelerating transformation of marine pharmaceutical research into commercial products.

In 1985, Guan's team joined hands with CP Pharmaceutical Group to develop the marine drug PSS.

Chen Yangsheng, the vice-president of CP Pharmaceutical Group Qingdao, said: "Currently, 13 marine drugs are on the market, recognized by medical and scientific communities worldwide. Three of these are manufactured by our company."

Qingdao is at the forefront of marine science and technology, said Wang Qingxian, secretary of the Qingdao committee of the Communist Party of China.

The coastal city is home to more than 30 percent of China's universities and research institutes in marine science and technology, as well as 50 percent of researchers and 70 percent of experts and scholars in the field.

"Qingdao is accelerating its efforts in high-quality marine sectors with a focus on economic transformation, efficient port service, opening-up process, technological innovation and ecological protection," Wang said.

Guan Huashi (center) discusses the compounds of gorgonian, a type of soft coral, with colleagues at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, Shandong province. CHINA DAILY

Eighty-year-old Guan Huashi is in constant pursuit of cures for human diseases, and his source is the ocean.

As one of the pioneers in marine pharmaceutical studies in China, Guan, a professor at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, Shandong province, had for the first time led a team that successfully developed the country's first marine drug, called PSS, in 1985.

The drug helps to treat cardiovascular diseases, those related to heart or blood vessels, and cerebrovascular diseases, which are those related to blood vessels supplying the brain.

The professor, also head of the Marine Biomedical Research Institute of Qingdao, steered an independent research team that is developing two drugs. The drugs, derived from marine organisms and designed to cure two forms of cancer, are expected to enter clinical trials this year.

The latest breakthrough of Guan and his team is an Alzheimer's drug called GV-971, which is extracted from brown algae. The first phase of clinical trials has been completed.

The drug is aimed at patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's, a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gradually worsens over time, destroying thinking skills and the ability to carry out simple tasks. Independent animal experiments found that the drug can regulate the immune system, reduce neuroinflammation and improve cognition, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

"As a cradle of life, the ocean abounds in pharmacological potential," said Guan, also a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. "Products developed from marine sources can be of therapeutic value."

Guan's interest in marine pharmacology - a science that focuses on substances with active pharmacological properties present in marine species of plants and animals - was sparked by an unexpected discovery he made while conducting an experiment in a laboratory 40 years ago.

He found that a substance extracted from seaweed could help treat problems related to blood viscosity, which made him delve deeper into studying the potential of marine organisms in finding a cure for various human illnesses.

Guan majored in fisheries at the former Shandong Ocean College, the predecessor of Ocean University of China, from 1959 to 1964. After graduation, he was engaged in teaching and fishery research at his alma mater until the late 1970s.

During his childhood, Guan, who was born in Xiajin county in Shandong in 1939, loved to raise aquatic creatures such as fish, shrimps, crabs, turtles and tadpoles.

"Maybe my curiosity for creatures in water and my respect for rivers, lakes and seas when I was a child had some bearing on my career," said Guan, who spent a large part of his academic and professional life in Qingdao, a city known for marine technology.

When President Xi Jinping visited Qingdao in June last year, Guan told Xi about his dream to develop a "blue drugstore" for medicine in China, with blue implying the color of the sea. "We share the same dream," Xi said.

"Developing the marine economy and conducting research in marine sciences are important parts of the nation's strategy of rejuvenation," said Xi, adding that all-out efforts should be made in this direction.

According to Guan, the building of a "blue drugstore" would involve establishing a marine pharmaceutical database, setting up a public platform and applying the concepts of traditional Chinese medicine to modern medical science.

He plans to develop several new marine medicines in the next three to five years.

Guan's team has collaborated with dozens of research groups and more than 100 scientists from five countries.

In Guan's view, commercialization is a big step in turning his research findings into practical solutions. Therefore, he and his team maintain close ties with pharmaceutical companies.

In June last year, Guan's team signed an agreement with CP Pharmaceutical Group Qingdao for accelerating transformation of marine pharmaceutical research into commercial products.

In 1985, Guan's team joined hands with CP Pharmaceutical Group to develop the marine drug PSS.

Chen Yangsheng, the vice-president of CP Pharmaceutical Group Qingdao, said: "Currently, 13 marine drugs are on the market, recognized by medical and scientific communities worldwide. Three of these are manufactured by our company."

Qingdao is at the forefront of marine science and technology, said Wang Qingxian, secretary of the Qingdao committee of the Communist Party of China.

The coastal city is home to more than 30 percent of China's universities and research institutes in marine science and technology, as well as 50 percent of researchers and 70 percent of experts and scholars in the field.

"Qingdao is accelerating its efforts in high-quality marine sectors with a focus on economic transformation, efficient port service, opening-up process, technological innovation and ecological protection," Wang said.

[Photo/IC]

BEIJING - China has introduced a series of policy initiatives to promote the healthy development of private medical and health institutions, according to a new directive jointly released by 10 central government agencies.

The government will ramp up support for private medical and health institutions, and push forward efforts to upgrade services and simplify government approvals, says the document.

The number of private medical and health institutions reached 459,000, accounting for about 46 percent of the country's total, as of the end of 2018, according to Wang Hesheng, deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC), at a Wednesday policy briefing about the directive.

As of the end of last year, China had 21,000 hospitals run by private sectors, or 63.5 percent of all hospitals, Wand added.

China saw steady growth in the proportion of staff workers, sickbeds and treatments at private medical and health institutions in recent years, the official noted.

The number and scale of public hospitals should be strictly controlled in accordance with requirements of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) to leave sufficient room for the development of private medical institutions, according to the directive.

When increasing or adjusting medical and health resources, local authorities should first consider medical and health institutions run with funding from non-government sectors, says the document.

Government purchases of services from private medical and health institutions should be supported, in accordance with the principle of fair competition and merit selection, in a bid to provide community residents with family doctor services, among other public health services.

[Photo/IC]

BEIJING - China has introduced a series of policy initiatives to promote the healthy development of private medical and health institutions, according to a new directive jointly released by 10 central government agencies.

The government will ramp up support for private medical and health institutions, and push forward efforts to upgrade services and simplify government approvals, says the document.

The number of private medical and health institutions reached 459,000, accounting for about 46 percent of the country's total, as of the end of 2018, according to Wang Hesheng, deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC), at a Wednesday policy briefing about the directive.

As of the end of last year, China had 21,000 hospitals run by private sectors, or 63.5 percent of all hospitals, Wand added.

China saw steady growth in the proportion of staff workers, sickbeds and treatments at private medical and health institutions in recent years, the official noted.

The number and scale of public hospitals should be strictly controlled in accordance with requirements of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) to leave sufficient room for the development of private medical institutions, according to the directive.

When increasing or adjusting medical and health resources, local authorities should first consider medical and health institutions run with funding from non-government sectors, says the document.

Government purchases of services from private medical and health institutions should be supported, in accordance with the principle of fair competition and merit selection, in a bid to provide community residents with family doctor services, among other public health services.

[Photo/IC]

BEIJING - China has introduced a series of policy initiatives to promote the healthy development of private medical and health institutions, according to a new directive jointly released by 10 central government agencies.

The government will ramp up support for private medical and health institutions, and push forward efforts to upgrade services and simplify government approvals, says the document.

The number of private medical and health institutions reached 459,000, accounting for about 46 percent of the country's total, as of the end of 2018, according to Wang Hesheng, deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC), at a Wednesday policy briefing about the directive.

As of the end of last year, China had 21,000 hospitals run by private sectors, or 63.5 percent of all hospitals, Wand added.

China saw steady growth in the proportion of staff workers, sickbeds and treatments at private medical and health institutions in recent years, the official noted.

The number and scale of public hospitals should be strictly controlled in accordance with requirements of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) to leave sufficient room for the development of private medical institutions, according to the directive.

When increasing or adjusting medical and health resources, local authorities should first consider medical and health institutions run with funding from non-government sectors, says the document.

Government purchases of services from private medical and health institutions should be supported, in accordance with the principle of fair competition and merit selection, in a bid to provide community residents with family doctor services, among other public health services.

Doctors examine villagers in Dianjiang county, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, on Jan 19, 2019. [Photo/IC]

It is not easy for villagers living in mountainous areas to see a doctor at a county hospital due to inconvenient and costly transportation.

However, locals from remote and rural areas in mountainous Yanchuan county in Yan'an city, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, now have access to high-quality door-to-door medical services thanks to mobile hospitals.

Yanchuan, which has a population of 192,000, was one of two impoverished counties that announced the end of their poverty status recently. Of its population, there are 22,135 people who are impoverished.

The biggest challenge facing the county is poverty due to illnesses. A total of 3,285 households were poverty-stricken as a result of serious or chronic diseases, accounting for 45.3 percent of the county's impoverished population, said Zhang Feng, deputy director of the county's health bureau.

To cope with the problem, the county launched 13 mobile hospitals in 2017 to provide medical services to its 163 villages scattered in the mountainous area on the Loess Plateau.

The mobile hospitals, equipped with first-aid equipment and the necessary medical facilities, were transformed from ambulances.

Each mobile hospital has five medical workers on board, including a village doctor, a general practitioner, a nurse, a remote medical consultation operations staff member and a clinical staff member, said Guo Bao, director of the health center in Guanzhuang township.

Yanchuan has cooperated with a number of prestigious hospitals in Beijing on remote medical consultation. Doctors in mobile hospitals can send a patient's test results to experienced doctors via the online medical consultation system and get advice and prescriptions quickly.

"In this way, patients with complicated or serious diseases can see an experienced doctor and prevent the condition from getting worse," Guo said.

The mobile hospital visits each impoverished household in the township at least once a month to check on the conditions of patients and provide door-to-door medical services to them.

Huang Guiying, who lives in Dazhang village in Guanzhuang, has benefited from the mobile hospital. A diabetes patient for years, Huang was diagnosed with coronary heart disease by the hospital in 2017.

She then had a coronary bypass operation in Xi'an, which cost her 180,000 yuan ($26,190). Medical insurance covered most of her medical fees.

Huang lives alone. Her husband and two of her sons died years ago. Her third son works as a migrant worker outside their hometown for most of the year. As a result of complications from diabetes, Huang cannot see clearly. The mobile hospital doctors have made friends with her and frequently visit her home to check on her health.

"If it were not for the doctors and the policy covering most of my fees, I won't survive," Huang, 63, said.

Gao Xuefeng, a village doctor in Dazhang, said locals used to be reluctant to see a doctor in town, let alone travel a long way to go to a county hospital dozens of kilometers away.

The mobile hospitals have completely changed their lives. Poor villagers from registered households can receive treatment and prescription medicine offered by the mobile hospital for free.

Apart from providing regular medical services to poor households, Zhang said the mobile hospitals also offer free basic physical checks for villagers over 50 years old across the county to prevent serious illness and poverty caused by illness.

A member of staff at the Beijing Songtang Care Hospital, one of China's first end-of-life centers, chats with a patient. [Wang Jing/China Daily]

BEIJING - China has begun to pilot an end-of-life care program in Shanghai as well as over 70 other cities and municipal districts to promote such care services, according to the National Health Commission (NHC) at a press conference on June 10.

The pilot program was first launched in five cities and municipal districts, including Haidian district in Beijing, Putuo district in Shanghai and Changchun city in the northeastern province of Jilin, in 2017.

The NHC released a circular on the pilot program in May, calling for more research and investigations, recruitment of more talent as well as improved mechanisms to serve the program, said Wang Haidong, an official with the commission at the press conference.

End-of-life care, which is not yet common in China, provides palliation to terminally or seriously ill patients and meets their physical, mental and spiritual needs, aiming to help them die with more comfort and dignity.

A total of 283,000 patients received end-of-life care across the country in 2018, according to an NHC meeting on the pilot program held on June 3.

End-of-life care is an important part of the country's system of medical care for seniors, said Wang, who noted that around 75 percent of China's elderly people suffered from chronic diseases.

China had about 170 million people aged 65 or above as of the end of 2018, which accounted for nearly 12 percent of its total population.

The NHC will release guidelines for end-of-life care services that include medication guides and other expertise, Wang said.

"We will make efforts to enable access to end-to-life care across the country as early as possible," he added.

A member of staff at the Beijing Songtang Care Hospital, one of China's first end-of-life centers, chats with a patient. [Wang Jing/China Daily]

BEIJING - China has begun to pilot an end-of-life care program in Shanghai as well as over 70 other cities and municipal districts to promote such care services, according to the National Health Commission (NHC) at a press conference on June 10.

The pilot program was first launched in five cities and municipal districts, including Haidian district in Beijing, Putuo district in Shanghai and Changchun city in the northeastern province of Jilin, in 2017.

The NHC released a circular on the pilot program in May, calling for more research and investigations, recruitment of more talent as well as improved mechanisms to serve the program, said Wang Haidong, an official with the commission at the press conference.

End-of-life care, which is not yet common in China, provides palliation to terminally or seriously ill patients and meets their physical, mental and spiritual needs, aiming to help them die with more comfort and dignity.

A total of 283,000 patients received end-of-life care across the country in 2018, according to an NHC meeting on the pilot program held on June 3.

End-of-life care is an important part of the country's system of medical care for seniors, said Wang, who noted that around 75 percent of China's elderly people suffered from chronic diseases.

China had about 170 million people aged 65 or above as of the end of 2018, which accounted for nearly 12 percent of its total population.

The NHC will release guidelines for end-of-life care services that include medication guides and other expertise, Wang said.

"We will make efforts to enable access to end-to-life care across the country as early as possible," he added.

A member of staff at the Beijing Songtang Care Hospital, one of China's first end-of-life centers, chats with a patient. [Wang Jing/China Daily]

BEIJING - China has begun to pilot an end-of-life care program in Shanghai as well as over 70 other cities and municipal districts to promote such care services, according to the National Health Commission (NHC) at a press conference on June 10.

The pilot program was first launched in five cities and municipal districts, including Haidian district in Beijing, Putuo district in Shanghai and Changchun city in the northeastern province of Jilin, in 2017.

The NHC released a circular on the pilot program in May, calling for more research and investigations, recruitment of more talent as well as improved mechanisms to serve the program, said Wang Haidong, an official with the commission at the press conference.

End-of-life care, which is not yet common in China, provides palliation to terminally or seriously ill patients and meets their physical, mental and spiritual needs, aiming to help them die with more comfort and dignity.

A total of 283,000 patients received end-of-life care across the country in 2018, according to an NHC meeting on the pilot program held on June 3.

End-of-life care is an important part of the country's system of medical care for seniors, said Wang, who noted that around 75 percent of China's elderly people suffered from chronic diseases.

China had about 170 million people aged 65 or above as of the end of 2018, which accounted for nearly 12 percent of its total population.

The NHC will release guidelines for end-of-life care services that include medication guides and other expertise, Wang said.

"We will make efforts to enable access to end-to-life care across the country as early as possible," he added.

Elderly people play Chinese chess at an aged-care center in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, Jan 5, 2019. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China has decided to carry out a psychological care program for the elderly in 1,600 urban communities and 320 rural villages, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) announced on June 10.

The program provides mental health services to the elderly through training sessions, mental health assessments, necessary interventions and referrals, said Wang Haidong, director of NHC's Department of Ageing and Health, at a press conference.

The program is expected to help understand the elderly's mental health status and needs, improve primary-level staff's skills to identify common psychological problems at an early stage and enhance mental health awareness among senior citizens, Wang said.

China's elderly healthcare system faces severe challenges due to its fast-growing elderly population. At the end of 2018, China had a population of 249 million aged 60 or above, making up 17.9 percent of the total population.

Elderly people play Chinese chess at an aged-care center in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, Jan 5, 2019. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China has decided to carry out a psychological care program for the elderly in 1,600 urban communities and 320 rural villages, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) announced on June 10.

The program provides mental health services to the elderly through training sessions, mental health assessments, necessary interventions and referrals, said Wang Haidong, director of NHC's Department of Ageing and Health, at a press conference.

The program is expected to help understand the elderly's mental health status and needs, improve primary-level staff's skills to identify common psychological problems at an early stage and enhance mental health awareness among senior citizens, Wang said.

China's elderly healthcare system faces severe challenges due to its fast-growing elderly population. At the end of 2018, China had a population of 249 million aged 60 or above, making up 17.9 percent of the total population.

The national event will be held annually, Wang Haidong, director of the National Health Commission’s Department of Ageing and Health, said at a news conference on June 10.

Themed “knowing health knowledge and being a healthy senior citizen,” this year’s events focus on publicizing health service policies and health knowledge among the elderly, aiming to create a favorable social environment for their healthy life.

China’s elderly healthcare system faces severe challenges due to its fast-growing elderly population. At the end of 2018, China had a population of 249 million aged 60 or above, making up 17.9 percent of the total population.

Photo taken on Feb 26 shows citizens donating blood in Xinjian district of Nanchang, capital of East China's Jiangxi province. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- China has witnessed more than 20 years of consecutive growth in the number of voluntary blood donations, from around 300,000 in 1998 to nearly 15 million in 2018, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) announced on June 10.

The volume of blood collected has also seen a marked increase of more than four times the amount since the Blood Donation Law took effect in 1998, said Zhou Changqiang, deputy director of NHC's Medical Administration Bureau, at a press conference.

"The steady increase in both the number of blood donors and the volume of blood has ensured a safe and stable blood supply," Zhou said.

The government has been improving equity and accessibility in clinical blood services over the years, according to Zhou.

Amid efforts to improve clinical blood security in medical institutions at and below the county level, half of the country's blood supply had been allocated to these institutions for three consecutive years since 2016, the NHC data show.

In addition, a multi-level blood early warning and distribution mechanism has been established to ensure emergency blood supply, Zhou noted.

In 2018, around 1.84 million units of blood were allocated between regions across China, of which 1.59 million units were transferred within provincial regions and 255,000 units between them.

Doctors examine villagers in Dianjiang county, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, on Jan 19, 2019. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China will set up new medical alliances in 100 cities and 500 counties across the country in 2019, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) said at a press conference on June 10.

Measures in 2019 will further improve China's medical services at grassroots level and facilitate the country's tiered diagnosis and treatment model, said Wang Hesheng, deputy head of the NHC.

China had 1,860 city-level and 3,129 county-level medical alliances at the end of 2018, said Wang, adding that the alliances have helped allocate medical resources and facilitate talent exchanges.

In April 2017, the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a guideline on building medical alliances as part of the measures to deepen the country's medical reform.

At the city level, led by top state-run hospitals, community medical institutions, nursing facilities and professional rehabilitation facilities in the alliance would share resources and talents, while county-level hospitals would form alliances with rural hospitals and village clinics, according to the guideline.

Doctors examine villagers in Dianjiang county, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, on Jan 19, 2019. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China will set up new medical alliances in 100 cities and 500 counties across the country in 2019, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) said at a press conference on June 10.

Measures in 2019 will further improve China's medical services at grassroots level and facilitate the country's tiered diagnosis and treatment model, said Wang Hesheng, deputy head of the NHC.

China had 1,860 city-level and 3,129 county-level medical alliances at the end of 2018, said Wang, adding that the alliances have helped allocate medical resources and facilitate talent exchanges.

In April 2017, the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a guideline on building medical alliances as part of the measures to deepen the country's medical reform.

At the city level, led by top state-run hospitals, community medical institutions, nursing facilities and professional rehabilitation facilities in the alliance would share resources and talents, while county-level hospitals would form alliances with rural hospitals and village clinics, according to the guideline.

Doctors examine villagers in Dianjiang county, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, on Jan 19, 2019. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China will set up new medical alliances in 100 cities and 500 counties across the country in 2019, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) said at a press conference on June 10.

Measures in 2019 will further improve China's medical services at grassroots level and facilitate the country's tiered diagnosis and treatment model, said Wang Hesheng, deputy head of the NHC.

China had 1,860 city-level and 3,129 county-level medical alliances at the end of 2018, said Wang, adding that the alliances have helped allocate medical resources and facilitate talent exchanges.

In April 2017, the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a guideline on building medical alliances as part of the measures to deepen the country's medical reform.

At the city level, led by top state-run hospitals, community medical institutions, nursing facilities and professional rehabilitation facilities in the alliance would share resources and talents, while county-level hospitals would form alliances with rural hospitals and village clinics, according to the guideline.

A national meeting on medical and health assistance to Northwest China’s Qinghai province opens on May 30 in its capital Xining. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

A national meeting on medical and health assistance to Northwest China's Qinghai province opened on May 30 at its capital Xining to promote the assistance program.

Li Bin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, attended the meeting and made remarks.

The meeting affirmed previous assistance work and progress and addressed the urgency of thoroughly promoting the health poverty alleviation program in the province.

Three main fields were identified for the medical assistance of other regions including Beijing to Qinghai in the future at the meeting, namely strengthening the capability of county-level hospitals, establishing systems which integrate health centers in county, township and village levels, and building standards for health centers in villages.

A three-part program, which includes treatment of 21 critical diseases for poor individuals, assigning family doctors to poor families with chronic disease patients, and offering severe disease insurance for poor families, should be effectively implemented in Qinghai, according to the meeting.

The prevention and control of endemic and infectious diseases would be improved.

Medical and health assistance is required to be targeted and an alliance of county-level hospitals as well as an "Internet plus medical and health" system is expected to be established, according to the meeting.

Health authorities should also support the development of traditional Tibetan medicine, meeting participants said.

The circular mandates efforts to provide more accessible and cheaper healthcare services and to further reform the system of healthcare insurance, medical care and drug circulation.

A package of documents on advancing the reform will be formulated, such as opinions on implementing the Healthy China strategy.

According to the circular, Healthy China will be carried out, and medical institutions will be better supported to provide public health services.

It also said the disease prevention and control system should be further reformed, and cancer prevention and treatment should be enhanced, with the promotion of cancer screening and accelerated registration and examination of anti-cancer drugs both at home and abroad.

The circular asks to test centralized drug procurement and usage, and reform public hospitals’ compensation system, and local authorities are required to build a dynamic and reasonable pricing system on healthcare services at public hospitals.

Efforts should be intensified to deepen comprehensive reform of public hospitals, and modern hospital management will be piloted in some hospitals.

Cross-provincial settlement of medical bills should be delivered and improved, and national and regional medical centers should be established to raise healthcare services in central and western regions, it said.

In addition, the overall quality of 500 county hospitals and 500 traditional Chinese medicine county hospitals will be improved, and development of traditional Chinese medicine will be supported.

More funds and preferential policies will be delivered to residents in deeply poor regions, and medical students will be encouraged to work in village and county hospitals, the circular said.

The circular mandates efforts to provide more accessible and cheaper healthcare services and to further reform the system of healthcare insurance, medical care and drug circulation.

A package of documents on advancing the reform will be formulated, such as opinions on implementing the Healthy China strategy.

According to the circular, Healthy China will be carried out, and medical institutions will be better supported to provide public health services.

It also said the disease prevention and control system should be further reformed, and cancer prevention and treatment should be enhanced, with the promotion of cancer screening and accelerated registration and examination of anti-cancer drugs both at home and abroad.

The circular asks to test centralized drug procurement and usage, and reform public hospitals’ compensation system, and local authorities are required to build a dynamic and reasonable pricing system on healthcare services at public hospitals.

Efforts should be intensified to deepen comprehensive reform of public hospitals, and modern hospital management will be piloted in some hospitals.

Cross-provincial settlement of medical bills should be delivered and improved, and national and regional medical centers should be established to raise healthcare services in central and western regions, it said.

In addition, the overall quality of 500 county hospitals and 500 traditional Chinese medicine county hospitals will be improved, and development of traditional Chinese medicine will be supported.

More funds and preferential policies will be delivered to residents in deeply poor regions, and medical students will be encouraged to work in village and county hospitals, the circular said.

The circular mandates efforts to provide more accessible and cheaper healthcare services and to further reform the system of healthcare insurance, medical care and drug circulation.

A package of documents on advancing the reform will be formulated, such as opinions on implementing the Healthy China strategy.

According to the circular, Healthy China will be carried out, and medical institutions will be better supported to provide public health services.

It also said the disease prevention and control system should be further reformed, and cancer prevention and treatment should be enhanced, with the promotion of cancer screening and accelerated registration and examination of anti-cancer drugs both at home and abroad.

The circular asks to test centralized drug procurement and usage, and reform public hospitals’ compensation system, and local authorities are required to build a dynamic and reasonable pricing system on healthcare services at public hospitals.

Efforts should be intensified to deepen comprehensive reform of public hospitals, and modern hospital management will be piloted in some hospitals.

Cross-provincial settlement of medical bills should be delivered and improved, and national and regional medical centers should be established to raise healthcare services in central and western regions, it said.

In addition, the overall quality of 500 county hospitals and 500 traditional Chinese medicine county hospitals will be improved, and development of traditional Chinese medicine will be supported.

More funds and preferential policies will be delivered to residents in deeply poor regions, and medical students will be encouraged to work in village and county hospitals, the circular said.

Those on the list will be the first batch of generic drugs of which production will be encouraged, the Commission said, adding that a renewed list would be released by the end of each year starting from 2020.

With healthcare reform going deeper and a population increasingly aging, China encourages both the creation of new drugs and the research and development of generic drugs, and strives to transform from a major drug making country to a country strong in medicine manufacturing.

Last year, a document issued by the General Office of the State Council ordered efforts to promote the research and development of generic drugs.

The list of generic drugs is among 15 regulations, of which the release by the end of this year has been listed as priorities in China’s medical and healthcare system reform in 2019.

The new method was developed by a research team with the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

It can detect two kinds of common tumor markers -- alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) -- conveniently, stably and sensitively, which is of great significance for the early detection and diagnosis of cancer, according to Miao Peng, the head of the team.

The levels of CEA and AFP in the serum are found to be related to the occurrence of many types of cancers. Simultaneous detection of multiplex targets plays an important role in the diagnosis of carcinoma.

The new method is simple to operate, less costly and convenient and has a great potential in biomedical research and clinical diagnosis, according to Miao.

A paper on the finding has been published in Nanoscale, a leading British journal on chemistry.

A doctor provides checkups and information on Parkinson's disease in a rural community in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Shi Yucheng/For China Daily]

Circular encourages cities to assist doctors in setting up new practices

Major cities are being urged to simplify the setting up of clinics by qualified doctors to help ensure universal healthcare.

A circular released last month by several central government departments including the National Health Commission to authorities of 10 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou - said they should take more measures to encourage doctors to set up clinics, support their development and improve supervision to ensure the safety and quality of medical services.

To simplify setting up clinics, applicants in the 10 pilot cities will no longer need to gain approval from health authorities. Instead, qualified applicants can just register with local health authorities and provide services after getting a license, the circular said.

Authorities should encourage qualified physicians, preferably those who have at least five years' experience in practicing medicine at medical institutions and have at least an intermediate professional title, to open clinics full time or part time, the circular said.

Authorities in the 10 cities should encourage clinics to provide primary healthcare services through various means, including subsidies, it said.

The guideline also said health authorities should intensify supervision over the operation of clinics and their services to ensure safety and quality, and organize regular training aimed at clinics to improve their professionalism.

The pilot cities should carry out plans based on the circular before the end of September, and the experiences gained will be promoted across the country, the National Health Commission said.

Zhao Heng, partner of Shanghai-based medical consultancy company Latitude Health, said the measures will encourage the more skilled and experienced doctors to open up clinics, which will gradually improve the quality of services.

"Many of the existing clinics that cannot provide high quality services will be eliminated from the market, and the new ones to be established will be able to provide higher quality services," he said.

Unlike in big cities, where hospitals play a greater part in providing healthcare services, clinics still play a very important role for healthcare in rural areas, but their services need to be improved to meet the demand, Zhao said.

Upgrading clinics will also help China to advance the ongoing healthcare reform, which aims to provide universal healthcare services to all residents through more equal distribution of medical resources, he said.

"Insufficient ability of medical institutions at the grassroots, including clinics, has been a major obstacle to promoting healthcare reform," he said. "Higher standard clinics will make them more prepared to work with major hospitals in cities to provide quality healthcare services."

Although clinics have played an important role in healthcare services at the grassroots, they face problems such as lack of talent, which restricts them from providing quality services, the National Health Commission said. On average, every clinic has only 2.6 doctors and nurses, and most of them only have a junior professional title, the commission said.

Zhang Qiang, founder of a Shanghai-based medical group, said the new measures will not result in a sudden increase of private clinics in these cities, as doctors still need approval from their primary employers, such as the hospital where they work, before they can open a clinic. Doctors in China generally have an employment contract with a hospital or clinic rather than practice medicine independently.

However, the new measures will promote talent flow and the sharing of medical resources, which will contribute to more equal healthcare services to the whole population, he said.

China's elderly healthcare system faces severe challenges due to the fast-growing elderly population.

It is challenging for the current elderly healthcare system to match the increasingly diverse and multi-level needs of the aging society, said Liu Yuanli, director of Chinese Aging Well Association.

An improved and sound system of health services for elderly will help build a friendly environment for senior people and provide a better living quality for senior citizens and their families, Liu said.

At the end of 2018, China had a population of 249 million aged 60 or above, making up 17.9 percent of the total population.

China's elderly healthcare system faces severe challenges due to the fast-growing elderly population.

It is challenging for the current elderly healthcare system to match the increasingly diverse and multi-level needs of the aging society, said Liu Yuanli, director of Chinese Aging Well Association.

An improved and sound system of health services for elderly will help build a friendly environment for senior people and provide a better living quality for senior citizens and their families, Liu said.

At the end of 2018, China had a population of 249 million aged 60 or above, making up 17.9 percent of the total population.

Yu Yanhong (L), member of the Leading Party Members' Group of China's National Health Commission (NHC) and deputy director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, meets with Roman Ilyk (R), deputy minister of Health of Ukraine on May 29 in Beijing. [nhc.gov.cn]

China expects more cooperation with Ukraine in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), said Yu Yanhong, a member of the Leading Party Members' Group of China's National Health Commission (NHC) and deputy director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Yu made the remarks as she met with Roman Ilyk, deputy minister of Health of Ukraine on May 29 in Beijing.

Many health sectors such as TCM, medical institutions and health system are expected to be areas of cooperation between China and Ukraine through high-level reciprocal visits and inter-governmental exchanges, said Yu.

Ukraine is willing to strengthen the inter-governmental coordination and exchanges, and boost TCM and medical services cooperation, according to Ilyk.

Yu spoke highly of China's practices and achievements on medical and health reform at the meeting.

In recent years, the two sides have made new progress in health cooperation, said Yu, praising the health work of the governmental cooperation commission.

Cheng Zhaoyun, 55, vice-president of Central China Fuwai Cardiovascular Hospital in Zhengzhou, Henan province, has a habit of drawing schematic diagrams before carrying out surgeries on patients with heart disease.

The habit started since he returned to China after studying in Australia in the second half of 2000.

Up to now, more than 4,000 hand-drawn patients' schematic diagrams are housed in his office, recording the surgeries of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in the past 18 years.

The colorful schematic diagrams show the detailed information of different patients, Cheng said.

The diagrams were regarded as preoperative preparations for better knowing the patients and also reference materials for doctors to perform heart surgeries.

Heart disease has become one of the biggest diseases in recent years, Cheng said.

He and his team carried out more than 800 surgeries last year, increasing from 21 surgeries in 2000, the first year he returned to Zhengzhou from Australia, he said.

Cheng hoped the schematic diagrams could make a contribution for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in the future.

Besides his persistence on drawing the schematic diagrams, he also keeps improving techniques for his surgeries.

He has been using the 8-0 sutures, the most delicate and fine surgical stitches for heart surgeries, ever since he came back to the hospital in 2000.

"For the anastomosis (or connection) of tiny coronary blood vessel in heart surgery, the 8-0 sutures can maintain better blood flow to the heart compared with other size of threads," Cheng said.

This is a challenge for a surgeon because he has to be very gentle in the process when connecting the blood vessels of 1.5-2.0mm with this kind of fine sutures, either not too loose or not too tight.

Cheng is one of the five surgeons who use this technique in almost every case of coronary bypass operation in China, according to Dahe Daily.

"It's good for the patient's recovery," Cheng said.

He received The Golden Knife Award from Chinese Association for Cardiovascular Surgery in 2012.

Meanwhile, Cheng has been ranked among the top 10 surgeons in the field of coronary artery bypass surgery in China for the past four years.

There were about 55.96 million surgeries operated in Chinese hospitals in 2017, but only 76,000 anesthetists were available. To hit the standard of 2.5 anesthetists per 10,000 operations in developed countries, at least another 270,000 anesthetists are needed.

"Recently, the amount of surgeries has risen by 10 percent annually, while the number of anesthetists has only increased about 5 percent," said Mi Weidong, an expert in labor analgesia at the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

With people's increasing need for medical services, a major predicament is that the surging number of surgeries largely outnumbers the increase of anesthetists every year.

China has put more efforts into dealing with the shortage of anesthetists in recent years. A total of 382 training bases for anesthetists have been selected to cultivate more professionals, and over 55 universities and colleges began enrolling undergraduate students majoring in anesthesia.

Thanks to the efforts, the number of anesthetists in China has increased by 20 percent in the last five years.

In 2018, a guideline for strengthening and improving anesthesia medical services was issued. It aims for the total number of anesthetists to reach 90,000 by 2020.

Yu Yanhong (L), member of the Leading Party Members' Group of China's National Health Commission (NHC) and deputy director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, meets with Roman Ilyk (R), deputy minister of Health of Ukraine on May 29 in Beijing. [nhc.gov.cn]

China expects more cooperation with Ukraine in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), said Yu Yanhong, a member of the Leading Party Members' Group of China's National Health Commission (NHC) and deputy director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Yu made the remarks as she met with Roman Ilyk, deputy minister of Health of Ukraine on May 29 in Beijing.

Many health sectors such as TCM, medical institutions and health system are expected to be areas of cooperation between China and Ukraine through high-level reciprocal visits and inter-governmental exchanges, said Yu.

Ukraine is willing to strengthen the inter-governmental coordination and exchanges, and boost TCM and medical services cooperation, according to Ilyk.

Yu spoke highly of China's practices and achievements on medical and health reform at the meeting.

In recent years, the two sides have made new progress in health cooperation, said Yu, praising the health work of the governmental cooperation commission.

Smoking has been declining on the Chinese mainland, but more efforts are needed for effective tobacco control, according to a survey released on May 30.

Last year, 26.6 percent of the population 15 years old or above across the mainland were smokers, according to the survey, which was conducted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention between July and December.

A similar survey conducted by China CDC in 2014 and 2015 showed 27.7 percent of the group smoked.

Despite a general decline, great difficulties still exist for China to bring down the percentage of smokers to 20 percent by 2030, China CDC said in a statement.

The survey, released ahead of World No Tobacco Day, which falls on May 31, showed increasing public support for tobacco control. More than 90 percent of those surveyed said they support a total ban on tobacco in the workplace, and more than 95 percent said they support banning smoking in hospitals, middle and primary schools and public transportation. Nearly 80 percent said they hope to see a ban on tobacco in restaurants.

The survey showed adult smokers generally lack the willingness to quit, with only 16 percent planning to quit within the year.

Zhi Xiuyi, vice-president of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, said China faces severe challenges in tobacco control to protect people's health, despite the progress made.

"To achieve the government target of bringing down the percentage of adult smokers to 20 percent by 2030, we have a lot of work to do," he said.

The biggest obstacle to tobacco control in China is the powerful tobacco industry, which is one of the biggest tax contributors to the government, he said.

Despite an increasing number of cities having local regulations on tobacco control, national legislation is still lacking, due to causes including influence from the industry, he said.

"Only a few big cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have strict tobacco control regulations and law enforcement, but in most areas in China such regulations are absent," he said. "The prevalence of tobacco has caused serious health consequences to the public, including the rising incidence of lung cancers in China," said Zhi, who is also a professor specializing in lung diseases at Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, in Beijing.

In the capital, the percentage of smokers decreased to 22.3 percent from 23.4 percent in 2014-a decrease of 200,000 smokers over the past five years-Beijing Municipal Health Commission said on May 30.

Following the adoption of a revised tobacco control regulation in June, 2015, which bans smoking in all indoor public spaces and workplaces, legal violations involving smoking in public places such as hospitals and restaurants in Beijing have significantly decreased, Gao Xiaojun, spokesman of the commission, said at a news conference.

The network, consisting of qualified medical institutions nationwide, will carry out regular checks on the pathogen spectrum and drug resistance of fungal infections, as well as clinical application of special or restricted antifungal drugs, the commission said.

Moreover, it will be tasked with conducting real-time monitoring on high-risk pathogenic fungi and outbreaks of fungal diseases, issuing early warning and taking measures to prevent and control major infections, the commission added.

Once high-risk pathogens, multidrug-resistant or pandrug-resistant "superfungi" are detected in routine tests, relevant information shall be reported to the network in real time, the commission said.

The students, from 343 schools across China ranging from universities to primary schools, will help launch a national campaign on tobacco control aimed at the young, together with other organizations, said Zeng Xiaopeng, director for the association's adolescent tobacco control committee.

"Tobacco control should start young, and schools are the key place," he said.

Promoting tobacco-free schools is essential to protecting students from the harmful effects of tobacco, and it's an important part of the overall tobacco control effort, said Li Quanle, a tobacco control official at the National Health Commission.

"The bodies and minds of young children and adolescents are not fully developed, so they suffer more serious damage from smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke," Li said. "They are at a key stage for forming healthy behaviors and lifestyles that will last throughout their whole life."

World No Tobacco Day falls on May 31.

The students will provide suggestions and technical support for volunteer activities across China, along with training on tobacco control for schools and assistance in conducting various tobacco control activities, the association's Zeng said.

The association launched the student program for tobacco control in 2016, and nearly 672,000 students had joined the union as of May 31, he said.

In China, a person dies every 30 seconds, on average, because of tobacco use, and another 100,000 people die each year as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke, according to World Health Organization's China office. Globally 8 million people die each year from diseases caused by tobacco, it said.

In China, about 7 percent of adolescents are smokers, but about 20 percent of them have tried smoking at some point, health official Li said, adding that 180 million children are exposed to secondhand smoke, which deserves public attention.

"We have started a new round of national surveys on smoking among adolescents," he said. "The results will serve as a basis for the government to formulate related tobacco control policies."

Li Changning, director of the China Health Education Center under the National Health Commission, said more research is needed to improve the tobacco control education for adolescents so that the information is more easily accepted by them for the best effect. In addition, more efforts should be made to build a tobacco-free environment for adolescents, he said.

Over the past two decades, China's score rose 80 points, from 861 to 941, due to reductions in child deaths and malnutrition, according to the annual Global Childhood Report 2019, released by international charity Save the Children on May 29.

The report compared the year 2000 with 2018, looking at eight indicators of a good childhood: premature death, stunted growth, education, child labor, early marriage, early pregnancy, child homicides and displacement.

According to the report, one in four children under the age of five has stunted growth among the 176 countries and regions it evaluated. But there were 49 million fewer stunted children in 2018 than in 2000, and the global stunted-growth rate declined from 32.5 percent in 2000 to 21.9 percent in 2018.

The report noted that of all the children saved from stunted growth live in Asia with China and India together accounting for more than half of the global decline.

"It is great to see China has made tremendous progress in improving children's access to daily and adequate nutrition in the first five years of life," said Sebastien Kuster, Save the Children China's chief operating officer.

The circumstances for children have improved since 2000 in 173 out of 176 countries the report covered. Among the eight indicators in the report, displacement is the only one on the rise.

A meeting on deepening medical reform experiences promotion is held in Xi'an, Northeast China’s Shaanxi province on May 25. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Medical reform in 2019 should prioritize the drug policy reform, health promotion, resources distribution, comprehensive supervision and management as well as health poverty alleviation, said Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission.

Wang made the remarks at a meeting on deepening medical reform experiences promotion held in Xi’an, Northeast China's Shannxi province on May 25.

Medical reform has entered into deep-waters where more effective methods and implementation are demanded, according to Wang.

China needs to further define the direction and requirements of the next step to deepen medical reform, said Wang, adding that the reform should adhere to a prevention-and problem-oriented work policy, regard health talents as medical reform's critical resources and encourage exploration and innovation.

Wang affirmed the medical reform progress in the last year.

He said the effect of deepening medical reform has continued to manifest and people's health has climbed continuously through reform of medical insurance, health institutions and circulation of medicines.

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission addresses the meeting on deepening medical reform experiences promotion on May 25. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

The alliance was launched by the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Peking University Sixth Hospital and Tianjin Anding Hospital.

According to a white paper on the mental health of Chinese urban residents in 2018, many people suffer from insomnia, anxiety and depression.

The country has seen a growing number of people with depression and an increasing number of young people suffering from depression, said Xu Chunfang, deputy director of the Health Commission of Hebei Province.

Xu added that postpartum depression and mental issues of elderly people also call for attention.

The alliance aims to improve public awareness on depressive disorder through health education, help authorities formulate policies for the prevention and treatment of depression, and further study the causes and treatment to help patients have a better quality of life.

Jia Meixiang, who chairs the autism committee of China Association of Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons, revealed the numbers at a symposium on autism rehabilitation held in southern city of Haikou, Hainan Province.

Jia contributed the growth to the rising public awareness of the illness and the attention given to autistic children.

But she said these facilities are all dedicated to children under 14 with very few catering to the needs of autistic adults.

Jia called for attention to this issue as more children with autism have grown up and their aging parents can no longer provide as much care.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills and social interactions and by restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior.

The disease affects at least 10 million people in China including more than 2 million children, according to an industry report released in 2015.

Greater support, quicker approval are diagnosed for success

The State Council has moved to incentivize the growth of private medical institutions with streamlined approvals and greater policy support as experts underscored the importance of enabling more talent flow to the private medical sector.

The cabinet decided at an executive meeting on Wednesday to expand the room of development for private medical institutions, cancelling restrictions on the number of such institutions within a certain region during urban planning procedures.

Workers from public hospitals can apply for the opening of medical institutions while they are still in service or on suspension from duty without pay, according to a statement released after the meeting.

The meeting also vowed improved efficiencies in government approvals, with an interdepartmental mechanism for such institutions set to be established before the end of this year.

The growth of private medical institutions will effectively increase the supply of medical services, stimulate the potential of the market and unleash the potential of consumption in the service sector, the statement said.

According to a report released by the National Health Commission last week, the number of private hospitals reached 20,977 last year, up by 11.8 percent from 2017. Private hospitals, with 26.3 percent of the country's hospital beds, received a total of 530 million patients, or 14.8 percent of the country's total, last year.

Li Ling, a professor who has conducted research on the country's medical reforms at Peking University, said the measures by the State Council showcased the growing importance of private medical institutions in the health sector.

However, she said, one of the major challenges for private medical institutions is the lack of high-quality medical workers. "It is not about money. It is about doctors," she said.

Even though private hospitals far outnumber their public counterparts, a majority of patients still opt for public hospitals. "It is a lengthy process to train a qualified doctor with enough expertise," she added.

The State Council meeting also came up with greater policy support for private medical institutions. To boost the number of outpatients, private hospitals can enjoy the same treatment as public hospitals on the policy of interprovincial on-the-spot settlement of medical bills through basic medical insurance accounts. More private hospitals will also be included in the basic medical insurance system, the statement said.

Tax incentives of small and micro businesses as well as high-tech firms will also be made available to private hospitals, which can also obtain land use rights through government allocation, transferring or leasing.

The cooperation between public and private medical institutions in the development of Internet Plus healthcare will receive support, in addition to services in long-distance medical coordination, medical examination and imaging.

Private medical institutions will be given priority in undertaking rehabilitation and nursing services from top-tier hospitals, and one-stop direct payment services will be promoted between them and commercial insurance institutions, it said.

For private institutions that are devoted to rehabilitation and nursing services at community levels, they can have taxes exempted based on relevant regulations, it added.

Shi Lichen, founder of Beijing Dingchen Consultancy, contended that there is a need to encourage more flow of people and services, including rehabilitation and nursing, from public hospitals to private institutions.

"T he best way is to enable more partnerships between public hospitals and social capital so that hospitals will be incentivized to outsource rehabilitation and nursing services," he said.

The meeting also called for better oversight and the establishment of reporting and handling mechanisms to crack down on wrongdoings. Those with severe credit losses will be subject to lifetime ban from the health sector.

Li, the professor, said the government stepping up punishment for wrongdoing will help improve the quality of private institutions in the sector. She noted that some private hospitals, driven by profits, have tainted the reputation of the sector as a whole.

The reputation of private hospitals in China suffered a blow in 2016 after Wei Zexi, a 21-year-old cancer patient from Shaanxi province, died after undergoing an experimental cancer therapy at a Beijing hospital that had outsourced work to private service providers.

"The key is to make sure that good money drives out bad in the market, not the other way around," she said.

Ma Xiaowei(R) minister of China's National Health Commission, meets with Erion Braçe, deputy prime minister of Albania. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission(NHC), and his delegation visited Albania at the invitation of the country's Ministry of Health and Social Protection from May 22 to 23 to exchange ideas on boosting the two nations' pragmatic health cooperation.

Ma met with Erion Braçe, deputy prime minister of Albania, and Manastirliu, minister of Albanian Health and Social Protection.

Health is an important sector of the two countries' cooperation, said Ma, adding that he expects China and Albania to build a closer health cooperative partnership by strengthening exchanges, under the guidance of the health cooperation implementation plan from 2018 to 2020.

The health cooperation between the two sides will prioritize the primary healthcare, hospital management and continuing medical education, according to Ma.

China and Albania has shared a long-time friendship, and 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Albania diplomatic relations, said Ma.

China is willing to take this opportunity to work with Albania as it actively participates in the Belt and Road Initiative and China-CEEC Cooperation.

Ma Xiaowei (R), minister of China's National Health Commission, meets with Manastirliu, minister of Albanian Health and Social Protection. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Li Bin(R), vice-minister of China’s National Health Commissionmeets with Marcia Ruiz, deputy minister of Public Health of Cuba on May 22 in Beijing. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Li Bin, vice-minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC), met with Marcia Ruiz, deputy minister of Public Health of Cuba, on May 22 in Beijing. They decided to strengthen the two nations' health cooperation.

Li and Ruiz exchanged ideas on strengthening communications and cooperation in public health, diseases prevention and control as well as medical education.

Cuba is willing to cooperate with China in health sectors, according to Ruiz, including ophthalmology, prevention and treatment of tumors, maternal and child healthcare, stomatology, biotechnology, medical education and grassroots health services, to better benefit the two countries' people.

China and Cuba have shared a close friendship, said Li, adding that they have cooperated effectively in biotechnology, ophthalmology and public health on the basis of existing health MoUs and programs.

He also described China's medical and health development and the strategy of building a Healthy China.

Doctors from various departments study and discuss Michael Horvath's condition before surgery for critical infective endocarditis at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A foreign software engineer working in Guangzhou, who suffered infective endocarditis and consequent failure of the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and brain, has recovered after treatment at a hospital in the city.

Doctors from more than a dozen departments, including cardiac surgery, nephrology and extracorporeal circulation, as well as the cardiac care unit, worked closely to save the patient, thanks to the hospital's multi-disciplinary team mechanism, said Wu Zhongkai, head of the Cardiac Surgery Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, at a press briefing on Monday.

Michael Horvath, 41, went to the hospital's emergency department with a high fever and breathing difficulty on the night of April 5 and his situation deteriorated very quickly.

Doctors from various departments study and discuss Michael Horvath's condition before surgery for critical infective endocarditis at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

He received cardiac surgery on April 12, right after imagery provided vague evidence of infective endocarditis.

Life support facilities, such as intra-aortic balloon pump and continuous renal replacement therapy were used in the treatment and his rare Rh negative blood type was supplied by the city's blood center.

"When I came to the hospital, it was really bad. I could hardly breathe. They had to force air into my lungs. That's the last thing I remember," Horvath said.

Wu Zhongkai, head of the cardiac surgery department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, listens to Michael Horvath's heart after surgery for critical infective endocarditis. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"The next thing I remembered was that several days after the surgery, when they woke me up, my breathing was very bad; they had to give me extra oxygen.

"My breathing is coming back. I can take a nice, full, deep breath right now. I could not walk after the surgery because I had been in bed for so long. Now I can walk far. My heart rate was very fast and it has come down. "

"I feel good now. Going back to normal. Still recovering. ...I want to thank them. They did a good job. I almost died. I'm very happy that they made the right decisions. ...The doctors here had a plan and the plan worked."

Horvath, who is to be discharged from the hospital Tuesday, now is looking forward to the birth of his baby, due to be born in about a month.

Michael Horvath takes a photo with the medical staff of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University after surgery for critical infective endocarditis. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Doctors from various departments study and discuss Michael Horvath's condition before surgery for critical infective endocarditis at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A foreign software engineer working in Guangzhou, who suffered infective endocarditis and consequent failure of the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and brain, has recovered after treatment at a hospital in the city.

Doctors from more than a dozen departments, including cardiac surgery, nephrology and extracorporeal circulation, as well as the cardiac care unit, worked closely to save the patient, thanks to the hospital's multi-disciplinary team mechanism, said Wu Zhongkai, head of the Cardiac Surgery Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, at a press briefing on Monday.

Michael Horvath, 41, went to the hospital's emergency department with a high fever and breathing difficulty on the night of April 5 and his situation deteriorated very quickly.

Doctors from various departments study and discuss Michael Horvath's condition before surgery for critical infective endocarditis at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

He received cardiac surgery on April 12, right after imagery provided vague evidence of infective endocarditis.

Life support facilities, such as intra-aortic balloon pump and continuous renal replacement therapy were used in the treatment and his rare Rh negative blood type was supplied by the city's blood center.

"When I came to the hospital, it was really bad. I could hardly breathe. They had to force air into my lungs. That's the last thing I remember," Horvath said.

Wu Zhongkai, head of the cardiac surgery department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, listens to Michael Horvath's heart after surgery for critical infective endocarditis. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"The next thing I remembered was that several days after the surgery, when they woke me up, my breathing was very bad; they had to give me extra oxygen.

"My breathing is coming back. I can take a nice, full, deep breath right now. I could not walk after the surgery because I had been in bed for so long. Now I can walk far. My heart rate was very fast and it has come down. "

"I feel good now. Going back to normal. Still recovering. ...I want to thank them. They did a good job. I almost died. I'm very happy that they made the right decisions. ...The doctors here had a plan and the plan worked."

Horvath, who is to be discharged from the hospital Tuesday, now is looking forward to the birth of his baby, due to be born in about a month.

Michael Horvath takes a photo with the medical staff of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University after surgery for critical infective endocarditis. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Tsering Pedron speaks with patients during her visit to a nursing home in Ngari prefecture, Tibet autonomous region. Photo provided to China Daily

Most Tibetan people regard Losar, or Tibetan New Year, as a time for family reunions, but Tsering Pedron usually spends most of the holiday treating patients at the Ngari People's Hospital in Ngari prefecture, Tibet autonomous region.

"I know it's important to be with family during such major holidays, but if I give my time to my family, how can I face the many patients who need me at any time?" said the 48-year-old director of the obstetrics and gynecology department of the hospital.

She has only spent New Year with her family once over the past 26 years.

Working as a senior doctor and surgeon in the hospital's Ob-Gyn department, Tsering Pedron has saved tens of thousands of lives, and she has encouraged Tibetan mothers to give birth in hospitals.

Like in most places in Tibet, mothers in Ngari tend to traditionally give birth at home and not in hospitals due to dated ideas.

However, the situation has improved since 2010 as many now decide to give birth in hospitals thanks to the full reimbursement of the maternity insurance policy and maternal subsidies at the hospital.

"The township and village government officials have been implementing good policies for healthcare and other areas to rural people, and that was how they were gradually encouraged to go to hospital for delivery," said Tsering Pedron.

This was a great step forward for healthcare in a remote region like Ngari, as the delivery of babies in hospitals reduces the incidence of maternal and newborn deaths. Moreover, by having regular hospital checkups, both the mother and baby are safe during the entire pregnancy process.

"Now, more than 98 percent of people living in rural and urban areas of our prefecture go to the hospital for childbirth instead of giving birth at home, apart from a few people who live in very remote nomadic areas," she said.

Since 2015, her hospital has not had maternal deaths, except for a few infant deaths. Though being a doctor is not easy, Tsering Pedron said she feels proud of herself whenever she hears the first cry of a baby or sees the smile of a mother after a successful delivery, which she finds to be the most fun part of her job.

After graduating from Shandong Medical College, Tsering Pedron studied for one year in the Central Hospital of Jiading District Shanghai, and thereafter nine months in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University.

In these two hospitals, she learned the knowledge and clinical experience for Ob-Gyn. As she is devoted to the safety and health of her patients, Tsering Pedron has long qualified for retirement, in which she can choose to retire after working 20 to 25 years according to the local retirement law, but she is not thinking of it now.

Instead, she continues to work hard and has received different honors from different levels of governments.

In 2016, she was selected as a deputy of the ninth congress of the China Communist Party of the Tibet autonomous region, and was also selected to be a deputy of the 19th CPC National People's Congress.

In 2018, she was honored with the title "The Most Beautiful Doctor of China", jointly presented by the National Health Commission and China Media Group.

"Gaining such honors are repayment and confidence of what I have been doing for my people, and I am overwhelmed with such great honors," she said.

"I want to work some more, because I can train more young medical talent to better serve patients, and I want to contribute a little more when I can," she said.

Tsering Pedron speaks with patients during her visit to a nursing home in Ngari prefecture, Tibet autonomous region. Photo provided to China Daily

Most Tibetan people regard Losar, or Tibetan New Year, as a time for family reunions, but Tsering Pedron usually spends most of the holiday treating patients at the Ngari People's Hospital in Ngari prefecture, Tibet autonomous region.

"I know it's important to be with family during such major holidays, but if I give my time to my family, how can I face the many patients who need me at any time?" said the 48-year-old director of the obstetrics and gynecology department of the hospital.

She has only spent New Year with her family once over the past 26 years.

Working as a senior doctor and surgeon in the hospital's Ob-Gyn department, Tsering Pedron has saved tens of thousands of lives, and she has encouraged Tibetan mothers to give birth in hospitals.

Like in most places in Tibet, mothers in Ngari tend to traditionally give birth at home and not in hospitals due to dated ideas.

However, the situation has improved since 2010 as many now decide to give birth in hospitals thanks to the full reimbursement of the maternity insurance policy and maternal subsidies at the hospital.

"The township and village government officials have been implementing good policies for healthcare and other areas to rural people, and that was how they were gradually encouraged to go to hospital for delivery," said Tsering Pedron.

This was a great step forward for healthcare in a remote region like Ngari, as the delivery of babies in hospitals reduces the incidence of maternal and newborn deaths. Moreover, by having regular hospital checkups, both the mother and baby are safe during the entire pregnancy process.

"Now, more than 98 percent of people living in rural and urban areas of our prefecture go to the hospital for childbirth instead of giving birth at home, apart from a few people who live in very remote nomadic areas," she said.

Since 2015, her hospital has not had maternal deaths, except for a few infant deaths. Though being a doctor is not easy, Tsering Pedron said she feels proud of herself whenever she hears the first cry of a baby or sees the smile of a mother after a successful delivery, which she finds to be the most fun part of her job.

After graduating from Shandong Medical College, Tsering Pedron studied for one year in the Central Hospital of Jiading District Shanghai, and thereafter nine months in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University.

In these two hospitals, she learned the knowledge and clinical experience for Ob-Gyn. As she is devoted to the safety and health of her patients, Tsering Pedron has long qualified for retirement, in which she can choose to retire after working 20 to 25 years according to the local retirement law, but she is not thinking of it now.

Instead, she continues to work hard and has received different honors from different levels of governments.

In 2016, she was selected as a deputy of the ninth congress of the China Communist Party of the Tibet autonomous region, and was also selected to be a deputy of the 19th CPC National People's Congress.

In 2018, she was honored with the title "The Most Beautiful Doctor of China", jointly presented by the National Health Commission and China Media Group.

"Gaining such honors are repayment and confidence of what I have been doing for my people, and I am overwhelmed with such great honors," she said.

"I want to work some more, because I can train more young medical talent to better serve patients, and I want to contribute a little more when I can," she said.

Surgery, conducted in a hospital in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, is connected live to a remote hospital in northern Guangdong with the help of 5G technology, April 1, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

BEIJING - China has made significant progress in its medical services in recent years, especially since the launch of a scheme in 2015, the People's Daily reported on May 27.

The scheme mostly aimed to solve problems with medical services concerning patients, and provide more convenient, safe and effective patient services.

More efforts have been put into "Internet Plus" medicine and health care to address issues such as time-consuming pre-treatment procedures and short appointments with doctors, the paper said.

Peking Union Medical College Hospital, for example, has launched an app so patients can make and change appointments without queuing at the hospital.

By integrating Internet technologies with medical care, service procedures and patient experience have been optimized. Currently, online appointments can be made available in all first-class hospitals in China, the paper reported.

It is expected that by 2020, more online services including treatment reminders, examination results and medical expense payment will be common in the country's first and second-class hospitals.

Telemedicine services have also been made available among different levels of medical institutions, covering all county-level hospitals in national-level poverty-stricken counties, the paper said.

China will make all effective measures part of modern hospital management to make medical services more secure, convenient, efficient and comfortable, the paper quoted an unidentified official with the National Health Commission as saying.

A primary school student gets a vision test in Handan, Hebei province, during the summer holiday. [Hao Qunying/For China Daily]

BEIJING - The first batch of 22 provincial governments in China have joined the national fight against myopia among young Chinese, People's Daily reported on May 27.

The governments have signed a letter of responsibility with the Ministry of Education and the National Health Commission (NHC), vowing to cut the overall myopia rate among children and teenagers by at least 0.5 percentage points a year from 2019 to 2023.

For those with higher-than-average myopia rate, the local governments will take measures to reduce the rate by one percentage point a year.

Measures will include reducing the heavy academic burdens and ensuring at least one hour of physical exercise at school.

The move came as the country combats myopia among children and teenagers as the disease has become severe in recent years, with teenagers affected at a younger age.

More than half of Chinese children and teenagers suffered from myopia in 2018, figures from the NHC show.

A newborn baby. [Photo/IC]

The health of women and children has climbed in China because of improved services, and gaps between regions have narrowed significantly, according to a report released on May 27.

Maternal mortality - or deaths related to childbirth - in China has moved below the average of some mid - to high-income countries, while life expectancy at birth is higher than the average, according to Qin Geng, director of the department for women and children's health at the National Health Commission.

Health authorities have been improving the network of care for women and children across China and have launched various health assistance programs focusing on pregnancy in remote and rural areas. Those programs are expected to continue contributing to reducing regional gaps, he said.

Qiu Jie, president of Gansu Provincial Maternity and Child-Care Hospital in Lanzhou, Gansu, said the hospital has been cooperating with grassroots medical facilities to help them improve services, so that residents can get timely diagnoses and treatment near their homes.

A network of other hospitals and clinics for maternal and child care has been established in the province, and more than 80 percent of all maternal and child care institutes at county level or above are able to conduct emergency operations in high-risk pregnancy cases, he said.

Rural and urban maternal mortality rates have both fallen substantially since 1990 - dropping by 81.2 percent to 19.9 per 100,000 in rural areas, and falling 67.2 percent to 15.5 per 100,000 in urban areas, according to the National Health Commission report.

Last year, pregnant women in rural areas were just 1.3 times more likely to die than their peers in urban areas. In 1990, the risk was 2.2 times more likely, the report said.

The discrepancy between areas also decreased. Last year, for example, the maternal mortality rate in western areas of China, which is less developed, was 25.2 per 100,000, 2.3 times that of eastern regions. In 1996, women in western areas were 4.7 times more likely to die, the report said.

Gaps in infant mortality and the overall growth of rural and urban areas, as well as between different regions, have also significantly narrowed over the past three decades, the report said.

A major program launched in 2000 that provided subsidies to pregnant women in rural areas to encourage them to give birth at hospitals has helped to increase the percentage of hospital births to 99.8 percent in rural areas last year, up from 51.7 percent in 1996, Qin said. He noted that this has resulted in reduced maternal mortality in rural areas across China.

Qin said that, in general, women's and children's health in China has significantly improved over the past seven decades.

When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, average life expectancy was 35, but increased to 77 years for babies born last year, he said. Female life expectancy reached 79.4 years in 2015.

The mortality rate for babies was as high as 20 percent before 1949 because of a lack of doctors and medicine, particularly in rural areas, compared with 0.61 percent last year, he said.

A meeting on deepening medical reform experiences promotion is held in Xi'an, Northeast China’s Shaanxi province on May 25. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Medical reform in 2019 should prioritize the drug policy reform, health promotion, resources distribution, comprehensive supervision and management as well as health poverty alleviation, said Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission.

Wang made the remarks at a meeting on deepening medical reform experiences promotion held in Xi’an, Northeast China's Shannxi province on May 25.

Medical reform has entered into deep-waters where more effective methods and implementation are demanded, according to Wang.

China needs to further define the direction and requirements of the next step to deepen medical reform, said Wang, adding that the reform should adhere to a prevention-and problem-oriented work policy, regard health talents as medical reform's critical resources and encourage exploration and innovation.

Wang affirmed the medical reform progress in the last year.

He said the effect of deepening medical reform has continued to manifest and people's health has climbed continuously through reform of medical insurance, health institutions and circulation of medicines.

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission addresses the meeting on deepening medical reform experiences promotion on May 25. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Constipation, (characterized as a frequency of less than twice per week), loss of the sense of smell, sleep disorders, slowness of movement, tremors or rigidity are all preclinical symptoms of the disease, said Wing Yun-kwok, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Medicine.

Anne Chan Yin-yan, head of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Unit at CUHK, said, "Identifying Parkinson's disease at an early stage and intervening when the neurodegeneration is less severe provides a higher chance of slowing the progression and even preventing the development of disabling symptoms."

The website of the American Parkinson's Disease Association states that the symptoms can broadly be divided into two categories. They are motor - including slow movement, rigidity and tremors - and nonmotor, such as sleep disorders and constipation. Studies show that nonmotor symptoms can precede motor symptoms by decades.

"When those motor symptoms appear, around 50 percent to 80 percent of relative nerve cells have already been lost," Chan said.

According to Zhang Zhenxin, chief physician in the Department of Neurology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, even though it is essential to consult a doctor in the initial stages, studies show that nearly 15 percent of Parkinson's patients on the Chinese mainland didn't seek medical help until two years after the disease took hold.

That is because the early symptoms are almost imperceptible and the disease progresses slowly. Moreover, the early stages can easily be confused with the normal effects of ageing.

Although there is no cure for Parkinson's, it is still important to receive formal treatment in the early stages.

"Research has shown that patients who received treatment within three years of the appearance of symptoms show better self-care ability, mobility and quality of life than those who received treatment four years after the onset of the disease," Zhang said.

Almost half of the people with Parkinson's in the world are Chinese, according to a study by the University of Rochester in the United States in 2007.

Based on a national epidemiological survey, the estimated morbidity of Parkinson's patients age 65 and older is 1.7 percent in China, and there are more than 2.5 million people with Parkinson's on the mainland.

With 100,000 new cases each year, the number of patients on the mainland will reach 15 million by 2030.

Specialist outpatient clinics are being established nationwide to ward off the disease. To date, there are 500 in 150 cities and counties, providing timely, efficient treatment.

A new edition of a guide book about Parkinson's clinics was published last month, providing patients with the addresses of facilities in their area and details that allow them to make appointments for consultations via their mobile phones.

After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's is the second most-common neurodegenerative disease in Hong Kong, which has an estimated 12,000 patients, according to CUHK.

China has 276 medical institutes that offered hospice care while geriatric clinics can be found in 1,519 medical institutes, said the National Health Commission (NHC) in its annual healthcare progress report for 2018.

China's population is greying, with about 170 million people reaching the age of 65. The NHC report said the seniors made up more than 29 percent of the total in-patient population.

Trial programs of integrating medical and elderly care services have been rolled out in 90 cities. In the meantime, work on smart senior care continues to be pushed forward, the report added.

A doctor provides checkups and information on Parkinson's disease in a rural community in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Shi Yucheng/For China Daily]

BEIJING - Hospitals at the county level across China had diagnosed and treated patients in about 1.19 billion cases in 2018, according to a statistical report on China's medical and healthcare sector issued by the National Health Commission (NHC).

The report said that as of the end of 2018, China had 15,474 county-level hospitals. There are also 1,907 institutions for women and children's health, 2,090 disease prevention and control centers and 1,822 health supervision institutions at the same level.

More than 3 million health staff are working at these county-level health institutions, the NHC report said.

Also, the report said that China has about 622,000 village-based clinics in the country's rural areas, treating over 1.67 billion cases last year.

It said that each rural clinic was staffed with 2.32 workers on average in 2018, a slight rise from 2.3 in 2017.

A staff member of Cangzhou People's Hospital fills prescriptions of Traditional Chinese Medicine for patients in Cangzhou, north China's Hebei province, May 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Traditional medicine originating from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been incorporated into the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), marking a major step for TCM's internationalization.

The revision was approved Saturday at the 72 World Health Assembly being held in Geneva, Switzerland, according to China's National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Staff members of Cangzhou People's Hospital fill prescriptions of Traditional Chinese Medicine for patients in Cangzhou, north China's Hebei province, May 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

"The release of ICD-11 can help China establish a disease statistics network with the country's TCM health service information according to international standards," said Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

It can also promote international exchange and cooperation of TCM and the integrated development of TCM with medical and health care systems of other countries, said Zhang, also president of the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

China has signed specialized TCM cooperation agreements with over 40 countries, regions and organizations, built a group of TCM centers in countries and regions along routes of the Belt and Road, and opened hundreds of TCM institutes in more than 30 countries and regions.

A doctor gives acupuncture treatment to a patient at Cangzhou People's Hospital in Cangzhou, north China's Hebei province, May 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Staff members of a pharmacy fill prescriptions of Traditional Chinese Medicine for patients in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, May 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Doctor Yuan Xiaolan (R, front) from Guangdong examines a patient at the People's Hospital in Nyingchi, Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, Aug 16, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

Nearly 300 healthcare workers and volunteers from Beijing set off on May 26 morning to deliver medical assistance to areas in the cities of Lhasa, Shigatse and Nyingchi in the Tibet autonomous region.

The mobile medical teams will visit local hospitals, grassroots clinics, temples and social welfare institutes to provide a range of services, including diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, and to help train local medical workers, according to Jin Dapeng, vice-president of the Chinese Medical Association.

Jin is also the head of a public welfare program known as China Hearts, which since 2008 has been sending medical resources and professionals to Tibetan areas in Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan and Qinghai provinces, as well as Tibet. The program is guided by the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The latest wave of medical assistance, which is expected to run through Thursday, will also contribute to the nationwide effort to eradicate extreme poverty, targeting households in Tibet that were impoverished by overwhelming health costs and a shortage of medical resources, Jin said.

Yu Yungui, deputy director of the regional United Front Work Department, said the new program came at an opportune moment, as the people of Tibet need improved healthcare services, more education about health and sanitation and stronger safety nets to protect their health to maintain the overall pace of development in the region.

Tibet has already seen marked improvement in general health over the past six decades. Average life expectancy has increased from 35.5 years for a person born in the 1960s to 68.2 for one born in 2018, and the mortality rate associated with pregnancy and the infant mortality rate have both dropped steeply, according to the National Health Commission.

However, major key health criteria in Tibet continue to lag behind the national average, pointing to the significance of continued efforts to upgrade its healthcare systems, said Zhao Haidan, chief physician at Peking University's Shougang Hospital.

"After years of medical assistance that has yielded promising results, it is now crucial to train local health workers to get used to handling advanced equipment to boost their diagnostic capabilities and help establish an efficient management system at local health institutions," he said.

Zhao was assigned to visit Kongpo'gyada county in Nyingchi as part of the mobile medical program.

In the past 10 years, the China Hearts program has offered free surgeries to more than 1,500 children with congenital heart disease and enabled nearly 1,000 people with cataracts to regain their eyesight.

In addition, the program has identified and treated 165 cases of tapeworm, a potentially deadly parasitic disease, through a large-scale screening program of more than 11,300 residents in Tibet. About 100 surgeries have been performed so far to treat the disease, which is prevalent in the region.

Doctors from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, offer free medical services in Pishan county of Hotan prefecture. [Photo provided to CHINA DAILY]

BEIJING - China is stepping up efforts to improve its system of stroke treatment centers, said the National Health Commission (NHC).

The efforts include building a multi-level medical care system and putting guidelines for fast stroke-specific care in place to ensure patients get effective treatment within the "golden hour."

As of May 2018, there were 156 stroke treatment centers across the country, and 86 were being built, according to the 2018 Report on Stroke Prevention and Treatment in China released by the stroke prevention committee of the NHC.

The report says that strokes, which occur when a vessel in the brain ruptures or is blocked by a blood clot, are the most common cause for disabilities and deaths among Chinese adults.

From 2005 to 2016, the number of people under 70 who were struck by strokes constantly increased, it said.

Unhealthy lifestyles as shown in smoking, drinking, staying up late and the lack of exercise are to blame for the rising incidence rate, experts said.

Apart from raising people's awareness of stroke prevention and first aid, experts suggest individuals maintain a healthy lifestyle and seek for timely medical care upon symptom onset.

Doctors from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, offer free medical services in Pishan county of Hotan prefecture. [Photo provided to CHINA DAILY]

BEIJING - China is stepping up efforts to improve its system of stroke treatment centers, said the National Health Commission (NHC).

The efforts include building a multi-level medical care system and putting guidelines for fast stroke-specific care in place to ensure patients get effective treatment within the "golden hour."

As of May 2018, there were 156 stroke treatment centers across the country, and 86 were being built, according to the 2018 Report on Stroke Prevention and Treatment in China released by the stroke prevention committee of the NHC.

The report says that strokes, which occur when a vessel in the brain ruptures or is blocked by a blood clot, are the most common cause for disabilities and deaths among Chinese adults.

From 2005 to 2016, the number of people under 70 who were struck by strokes constantly increased, it said.

Unhealthy lifestyles as shown in smoking, drinking, staying up late and the lack of exercise are to blame for the rising incidence rate, experts said.

Apart from raising people's awareness of stroke prevention and first aid, experts suggest individuals maintain a healthy lifestyle and seek for timely medical care upon symptom onset.

China is a model of strengthening domestic emergency medical capability and guaranteeing regional as well as global security, said Tedros, director-general of the WHO, at the certification ceremony.

The two EMTs, one led by Tianjin People's Hospital and the other by the Macao SAR Health Bureau, are defined by the WHO as Type 2 and Type 1 EMTs, respectively, according to WHO definition. 

Building international EMTs is a reflection of China’s determination to meet international standards and actively guarantee global health security, and also a highlight of the deep and effective cooperation between China and WHO.

Boosting the construction of the international EMTs is conducive to a country's improving its ability to respond to domestic emergencies and to guard international health security, said Tedros.

As of Apr 30, 2019, there were 25 EMTs globally which has acquired the WHO certification. China contributed five, including one team of Type 3, three of Type 2 and one of Type 1.

There are three types of EMT, based on WHO definitions.

Type 1 should be able to provide outpatient initial emergency care of injuries and other significant health care needs. The Type 2 must provide emergency care, including surgery, around the clock, and the Type 3 must be able to provide inpatient referral care and complex surgery.

Yu Xuejun, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, made the comment at the Intelligent Health and Medicine Summit which was held on May 17 in Tianjin as part of the 3rd World Intelligence Congress.

Currently, global intelligent medicine is stepping into a critical period of development and updating, said Yu, adding that China will strengthen the use of artificial intelligence in the health sector and boost intelligent health.  

A medical and health service mode based on modern ideas, methods and technologies is being explored by the country to better satisfy the public, said Yu.

People donate blood at a donation point after a deadly chemical factory blast killed dozens in Xiangshui county in Jiangsu province, March 22, 2019. [Photo by Wang Jing/China Daily]

BEIJING - The number of voluntary blood donations in China rose by 2.8 percent to 14.99 million in 2018, according to the country's National Health Commission (NHC).

The figure indicates that China saw nearly 11.2 blood donors in every 1,000 people last year, the NHC report says.

The volume of blood collected from voluntary donors also increased in 2018, with a year-on-year growth of 3.7 percent.

The number of voluntary blood donations has seen 21 years of consecutive growth in China, from 328,000 in 1998 to 14.99 million in 2018, the NHC figures show.

Li Bin, deputy head of China's National Health Commission, said the promotion campaign serves as the implementation of the National Nutrition Plan (2017-2030).

Nutrition and health concepts should be introduced into the community, workplace and family, Li said.

Theme-based information, such as a balanced diet and nutrition plus exercise was given out at the event.

Activities, including the launching of innovation funds and lectures on nutrition and health, were also held.

Nearly 1,000 people from the national committee on nutrition and health, academic institutions and associations attended the activity.

Li Li poses with some of her Algerian colleagues and patients for a photo at the Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Setif in Algeria. [Photo/China Daily]

The gynecologist is positive that work abroad will help her get through bad days

As a member of a Chinese medical team in Algeria, gynecologist Li Li completed 10,750 outpatient clinic services and 1,608 cesarean sections.

Now that the 48-year-old has returned home after two years of hard work, she still feels delighted talking about her journey to the west. Unlike monk Sanzang's adventure in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to seek the truth, Li's experience in Algeria was more about helping and caring.

Before she went on her stint in Algeria, Li had never been abroad. She was born in the city of Xiangyang, Hubei province, and still lives and works there.

Growing up in a family of teachers, Li was taught to be a helpful person and so after graduating from high school, she accepted an offer from a medical school without any hesitation.

Li said she did not expect she would be able to use her specialized skills one day while she was a student studying medicine and that these skills could give her the ability to serve in a developing country in a way that many others could not.

After graduation, the then-22-year-old was recruited to work at the Xiangyang Woman's and Children's Hospital and became a gynecologist. Over the next 20 years, Li worked assiduously for the hospital, but also had a lot of stress and pain at the same time. She raised her daughter on her own after her divorce.

"I raised my daughter alone, and that was probably the most difficult time of my life," Li said.

"Maintaining a balance between work and family requires tremendous energy and determination, but I had to keep going no matter what.

"My job is to bring hope to families welcoming new members, and I kept reminding myself that I could do the same for my family too."

In 2014, Li's daughter was admitted into a local university, and that news was a great relief for her. From then on, Li decided to live a different life, so she turned her attention to a medical assistance program launched by the government half a century ago.

It has been a long time since Chinese doctors started providing medical services to patients in Algeria. Since two years after Algeria's independence from France in 1962, China has been dispatching medical teams to the country to provide medical care for its people, and hospitals from Hubei province were the first to join the program.

Some of Li's colleagues had been to Algeria before, and she was interested in working abroad after talking to them. For every doctor who had been there, it seemed that the two-year service had left unforgettable memories, and almost everyone told Li that she should take up the challenge.

"My willingness to go to Africa was more of a professional complex. A senior doctor whom I admire went to Algeria many years ago, and he shared a lot of fascinating experiences with me at a meeting. From then on, the idea of working and living abroad was like a seed sprouting in my heart," she said.

Li with three babies she had just delivered at the hospital. [Photo/China Daily]

Li enrolled to be a member of the medical team in June 2016, and she soon embarked on an intensive six-month quest to learn French.

More Chinese doctors today may consider the possibility of working abroad as China's global influence grows. However, adapting to life abroad is never an easy thing to do, and the language barrier is always the main obstacle.

"We met a dedicated French teacher during the course, and through my continuous efforts, I could cope with simple communication by the end of the course. I also learned some medical terminology in French which turned out to be very useful," Li said.

With seven other doctors, Li took a flight to Algeria in March 2017. They were assigned to different departments at the Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Setif, a major hospital in Setif in the east of Algeria. Li began mission work the moment she arrived.

"Working there was completely different from working at my hospital in Xiangyang, Algerians have a different view of childbirth than the Chinese. They do not get abortions, and some of them prefer cesarean sections. These were the things that kept us busy, and there were surgeries almost every day," she said.

Li helped to deliver more than 10,000 babies. It takes Li an hour to finish a C-section in China, while the duration to complete one was much shorter in Algeria. Li set a record by finishing an operation within 20 minutes, and that kind of efficiency won the admiration of her Algerian colleagues.

"In the beginning, they were a little skeptical about whether I could handle all these surgeries, but I soon reassured them with my performance. Sometimes, I needed to perform more than 10 operations a day. I had to seize the day because there were always many women waiting for the operations," Li said.

In addition to providing diagnoses and surgeries, Li and other members of the team had to teach local medical professionals advanced medical skills, and this helped change some of the obsolete medical techniques and ideas in childbirth that had always existed among the local doctors.

"We have successfully carried out many highly complicated surgeries for the locals, and the mortality rate of mothers in Setif was significantly reduced through our joint efforts," she said. "But we were constantly under pressure due to a lack of equipment. Algeria needs to invest more in its hospitals."

Li's constant devotion earned the gratitude of the Algerian people, and they gave her the title of "excellent worker" before she left.

Although life in Setif was quite fulfilling, Li sometimes felt a bit of homesick. "Different dietary habits were one of the biggest challenges for me when I worked there," she said. "When I ate Algerian food for the first time, it evoked my nostalgic feelings of home."

Li is hoping for another opportunity to work abroad, and she said she had gained valuable experience from her time in Algeria, and that might guide her through bad days.

"There may be times when everything will appear too difficult to manage," Li said. "But the entire journey will turn out to be the most rewarding experience of my life."

A four-year campaign was launched in 2017 by the MCA and five other authorities to improve the service quality of elderly care institutions. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China's elderly care institutions are now banned from selling health products and services to elderly people.

Providing support for the sales promotions of other business entities has also been prohibited by a circular jointly issued by four authorities including the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) and the National Health Commission.

Elderly care institutions should organize more health knowledge activities to train residents' ability to tell false advertising, according to the circular.

Tip-offs about false advertising of health products and illegal fundraising were also encouraged.

A four-year campaign was launched in 2017 by the MCA and five other authorities to improve the service quality of elderly care institutions. The circular serves as a guideline for this year's work.

China had 30,000 elderly care institutions and 249 million people aged 60 or above at the end of 2018, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The commission said it had been coordinating with other authorities to improve policies regarding early childhood education, employment, housing and tax after the country allowed married couples to have up to two children from 2016. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- About half of China's 15.23 million newborns in 2018 were second children in the family, according to a recent report by the National Health Commission.

The country has made steady progress in improving its maternal and child health services, the report says, adding that lactation facilities had been provided in 88.3 percent of public places that should be equipped with such facilities.

The commission said it had been coordinating with other authorities to improve policies regarding early childhood education, employment, housing and tax after the country allowed married couples to have up to two children from 2016.

Doctors receive training in the teleconference center of the Lhasa People's Hospital. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

BEIJING -- China's Tibet autonomous region has made headway in its health and medical sector since the campaign of democratic reform six decades ago, the National Health Commission said on May 23.

The maternal mortality rate in Tibet fell from 5,000 per 100,000 people at the beginning of the reform to 56.52 per 100,000, and the infant mortality rate dropped from 430 per 1,000 to 11.59 per 1,000, fulfilling the 2020 targets in advance, said Wang Yunting, Party chief of Tibet's health commission, at a press conference in Beijing.

The average life expectancy in Tibet has almost doubled over the past 60 years, according to Wang.

By 2018, Tibet had 16,787 beds in its 1,548 medical and health institutions, with 4.88 beds per 1,000 people. The total number of medical staff in Tibet stood at 24,018, among them 19,035 were doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

A report on the progress of Tibet's medical sector was released at the conference, covering topics of assistance for building up medical capacities in Tibet, prevention and control of hydatid disease (Echinococcosis) and other major diseases, poverty alleviation through improving healthcare services and deepening reform in medical and health systems.

A man scans a QR code to pay for vegetables in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Xu Kangping/For China Daily]

BEIJING -- The average life expectancy of Chinese people rose 42 years, from 35 years in 1949 to 77 years in 2018, according to a statistics communique recently released by the National Health Commission.

Life expectancy of Chinese people has been continuously increasing in recent years: from 76.34 years in 2015 to 76.5 years in 2016, to 76.7 years in 2017 and reaching 77 years in 2018.

From 2017 to 2018, the infant mortality rate has dropped from 6.8 to 6.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the maternal mortality rate decreased from 19.6 to 18.3 per 100,000 births, said the government statistics.

The communique also reported improvements in medical reform as more people seek treatment at primary-level clinics and the number of medical workers in China increases.

People's right to social security, especially in healthcare, has been extended, said a white paper titled "Progress in Human Rights over the 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up in China," published in 2018.

The coverage of the basic medical insurance has been expanding and the per capita basic medical insurance subsidy for urban and rural residents has been rising, it said.

China has been promoting the Healthy China initiative, which aims to improve the national health policy and ensure the delivery of comprehensive lifecycle health services for Chinese people.

The National Health Commission (NHC) issued a circular this March, requiring measures to contain the fast increasing antimicrobial resistance of carbapenems, the most powerful antibiotics.

A 2017 report suggests that 20.7 percent of commonly existing pseudomonas aeruginosa and 56.1 percent of acinetobacter baumannii, which are likely to cause infections in hospitals, are resistant to carbapenems.

Failure to prevent or control antibiotic resistance will lead to difficulties in curing commonplace infections, longer hospital stays and even increased mortality, experts said.

Doctors should prescribe suitable antibiotics of appropriate doses, and hospitals should put guidelines on infection prevention and control into effect, said Yang Xiaoqiang, an expert with the NHC.

Liu Xiaolin, deputy general secretary of the Chinese Pharmacists Association, suggested efforts to improve supervision of the clinical use of antimicrobial drugs.

The patient was admitted on May 5, due to conditions including abdominal swelling and pain caused by peritoneal effusion, with swollen lower limbs and infected skin. The hospital organized a multidisciplinary team of specialists to provide him with professional treatment and care, the hospital said in a statement. It did not reveal the name of the patient.

Before the patient was discharged, the patient and his wife, in their traditional Sierra Leonean costumes, presented the hospital a letter of appreciation. The hospital also organized a consultation for him on May 14 and made a plan for his follow-up treatment. Ernest Mbaima Ndomahina, Sierra Leone ambassador to China, attended the consultation with his assistants.

Ndomahina expressed his appreciation on behalf of the delegation of Sierra Leone, and praised the professionalism, clinical skills and academic strengths of the hospital. The ambassador also spoke highly of the medical quality delivered by China-Japan Friendship Hospital.

Zhou Jun, Party secretary of China-Japan Friendship Hospital, also joined the event. Zhou welcomed the delegation led by the ambassador and said that the hospital would continue to deliver professional medical treatment and comprehensive care to the patient.

The patient was admitted on May 5, due to conditions including abdominal swelling and pain caused by peritoneal effusion, with swollen lower limbs and infected skin. The hospital organized a multidisciplinary team of specialists to provide him with professional treatment and care, the hospital said in a statement. It did not reveal the name of the patient.

Before the patient was discharged, the patient and his wife, in their traditional Sierra Leonean costumes, presented the hospital a letter of appreciation. The hospital also organized a consultation for him on May 14 and made a plan for his follow-up treatment. Ernest Mbaima Ndomahina, Sierra Leone ambassador to China, attended the consultation with his assistants.

Ndomahina expressed his appreciation on behalf of the delegation of Sierra Leone, and praised the professionalism, clinical skills and academic strengths of the hospital. The ambassador also spoke highly of the medical quality delivered by China-Japan Friendship Hospital.

Zhou Jun, Party secretary of China-Japan Friendship Hospital, also joined the event. Zhou welcomed the delegation led by the ambassador and said that the hospital would continue to deliver professional medical treatment and comprehensive care to the patient.

Designed by the WHO, this year's World No Tobacco Day's theme is "tobacco and lung health".

In order to celebrate the no tobacco day and to publicize the harm of smoking, China's National Health Commission (NHC) and Office of the National Patriotic Health Campaign Committee urge the provincial health departments the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Chinese Health Education Center to organize publicity activities on "no tobacco", so as to improve the public's health awareness and encourage them to live a healthy life.

The World No Tobacco Day is not be the only one day to promote activities on tobacco control. The control publicity should be continuous and offered in combination with that given on World Heart Day, World COPD Day and World Lung Cancer Day, according to the NHC.

The NHC also urged to create smoke-free environment and strengthen tobacco control legislation. The areas with the existing related laws should tighten enforcement and supervision to further protect the public from tobacco and smoke, said the NHC.

Local health authorities should encourage health institutions to develop smoking quitting services and regulate related clinics. The smoking quitting services hotline of 12320 and professional smoking quitting hotlines of 4008085531 and 4008885531 should be further promoted to be known by the public, according to the NHC.

In addition, the prevalence of tobacco smoking among China's teenagers should be continuously monitored and the capability of analyzing and using the data needs to be improved, added the HNC.

[Photo/who.int]

Designed by the WHO, this year's World No Tobacco Day's theme is "tobacco and lung health".

In order to celebrate the no tobacco day and to publicize the harm of smoking, China's National Health Commission (NHC) and Office of the National Patriotic Health Campaign Committee urge the provincial health departments the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Chinese Health Education Center to organize publicity activities on "no tobacco", so as to improve the public's health awareness and encourage them to live a healthy life.

The World No Tobacco Day is not be the only one day to promote activities on tobacco control. The control publicity should be continuous and offered in combination with that given on World Heart Day, World COPD Day and World Lung Cancer Day, according to the NHC.

The NHC also urged to create smoke-free environment and strengthen tobacco control legislation. The areas with the existing related laws should tighten enforcement and supervision to further protect the public from tobacco and smoke, said the NHC.

Local health authorities should encourage health institutions to develop smoking quitting services and regulate related clinics. The smoking quitting services hotline of 12320 and professional smoking quitting hotlines of 4008085531 and 4008885531 should be further promoted to be known by the public, according to the NHC.

In addition, the prevalence of tobacco smoking among China's teenagers should be continuously monitored and the capability of analyzing and using the data needs to be improved, added the HNC.

[Photo/who.int]

Wang Jianjun, member of the Leading Party Members’ Group of the National Health Commission and executive deputy-director of the office of the National Committee on Aging, made the remarks at the opening ceremony of an elder health promotion activity.

China is becoming an ageing society at a faster pace and the demand for elder health services keeps increasing, said Wang.

Various activities, including health promotion, lectures and free medical services on a volunteer basis were held to promote a healthy lifestyle and literacy.

Health officials attend the elder health promotion activity on May 15 in Baoji, Northwest China's Shaanxi province. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

At the sub-forum which was held in Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, 10 regions at provincial level signed an agreement to become "Internet + medical and health" demonstration regions.

The system should help health information flow freely to boost the industry's development, said Yu.

China will keep increasing people's sense of gain through further promotion of medical reform, strengthen health services and supervision and deeply implement "Internet + medical and health," added Yu. 

The digital health sub-forum of 2nd Digital China Summit is held on May 7 in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian province. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn] 

Ma Xiaowei (C), head of China's National Health Commission, speaks at a side-event of the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA) entitled "From primary health care to universal health coverage and sustainable development goals" in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 20, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

GENEVA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- On the first day of the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA) here on May 20, China's delegates shared their experiences in primary health care, stressing the importance of "political commitment" and a "people-centered approach" to safeguarding people's right to health.

Addressing a side-event of the WHA on Monday, Ma Xiaowei, head of China's National Health Commission, outlined his country's experiences in putting people's health as a strategic priority and integrating health into all policy-making processes.

The side-event, entitled "From primary health care to universal health coverage and sustainable development goals", was jointly sponsored by China and several other countries.

According to Ma, from the early 1950s to the late 1970s, China gradually introduced a three-tiered prevention and health care network in the rural areas, and developed the rural cooperative medical scheme, thus paving the way for rural health undertakings in the country.

Since China's reforms and opening up in 1978, he said, the country has continued to strengthen its primary health care services, build a "safety net" for residents who seek medical care, improve the quality and efficiency of primary health care services, and ensure that the general public have access to basic health care.

As for China's experiences in achieving its goals in this field, the health official said China has been striving to heed the changing conditions and adhere to the principle that government-led, rights-centered public institutions should play the leading role.

"China persists in focusing on the grassroots level and gives play to grassroots institutions in health management and common disease diagnosis and treatment," he added.

What's more, he said, China has made great efforts to meet the people's multilevel and diversified health needs and always put people's satisfaction at the heart of its efforts.

"China is willing to continue to strengthen cooperation and exchanges with all parties and make positive contributions to the global goal of universal health coverage and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and thus to make more contributions to the building of a community of shared human destiny," he noted.

Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Russia and other countries also shared their experiences and views at the side-event, which was attended by more than 200 people from various countries and international organizations.

People take part in a side-event of the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA) entitled "From primary health care to universal health coverage and sustainable development goals" in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 20, 2019.  [Photo/Xinhua]

People take part in a side-event of the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA) entitled "From primary health care to universal health coverage and sustainable development goals" in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 20, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, June 11, 2009. [Photo/IC]

GENEVA -- During the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), China will share its decades' experience and lessons in providing the people with primary health care service, which in its essence has centered around a host of people's-health-first policies and measures, the Chinese delegation to WHA said in Geneva on on May 18.

Above all, China's experience is that the government has adhered to the people's health as the center and put their health in a strategic position of priority development, Nie Chunlei, head of the Department of Primary Health at China's National Health Commission, said at a press conference, ahead of the 72nd WHA.

China issued the blueprint for health care development "Healthy China 2030" in 2016, in which the Healthy China initiative has been incorporated into the national strategic plan to ensure the realization of targets of sustainable development, he said.

Second, in a government-led effort, China has integrated health care into all policies, and engaged in both the supply and the demand sides so as to establish a coordination mechanism for public health governance, by involving a variety of sectors such public health, agriculture, education, environment, human resources and social security.

Third, according to the official, primary health care has always remained the focus of all health care related work in China. Following a principle of "guarantee basic service, strengthen primary health care, and create mechanisms," China has set up a hierarchical medical system, in which medical resources at hospitals and of contracted family doctors are integrated to improve services at county- and township-level health centers, especially in less-developed areas.

Fourth, China has been committed to constantly improving the capacity of primary health care workers, with the focus on training general practitioners, while at the same time improving the relevant incentive and guarantee mechanisms. According to Nie, from 2010 to 2018, the central government invested nearly 1.4 billion yuan (some $200 million) to recruit some 50,000 medical school graduates for county- and township-level health centers in the central and western regions of China.

Fifth, China promotes the application of new technologies in delivering primary health care service, by establishing, for example, intelligent information platforms for chronic diseases management, interactive information platforms for family doctors and residents, and telemedicine information systems. These applications of new technologies have helped improve the capacity of primary health care centers and residents' participation and sense of acquisition.

Last but not the least, China has been actively cooperating with international organizations, such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Bank, participating in global health governance, promoting the building of a community with shared future for mankind, and helping many developing countries achieve universal health coverage.

During the upcoming 72nd session of WHA, which kicks off on Monday, China will host a side meeting and participate in almost all WHA discussions to share its experience and lessons in delivering primary health care, Nie concluded.

Staff members work at a hospital's pharmacy in Shanghai in April. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The Chinese government earmarked more than 1.5 trillion yuan (about 222 billion US dollars) for its healthcare sector in 2018, 84 billion yuan more than the previous year, Health News reported on May 17.

The country's fiscal expenditure on healthcare between 2013 and 2017 totaled over 5.9 trillion yuan, posting an average annual growth of 11.7 percent, said the newspaper citing a report from the State Council.

The ever-increasing government input in the healthcare program has continuously cut people's spending in this regard.

In 2017, personal spending on healthcare shared 28.8 percent of the total expenses, a record low during the past two decades, read the report.

As of the end of 2017, more than 8 million impoverished people received inpatient treatment or special medical services for chronic diseases, covering nearly 95 percent of patients with serious or chronic illnesses, it said.

Staff members work at a hospital's pharmacy in Shanghai in April. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The Chinese government earmarked more than 1.5 trillion yuan (about 222 billion US dollars) for its healthcare sector in 2018, 84 billion yuan more than the previous year, Health News reported on May 17.

The country's fiscal expenditure on healthcare between 2013 and 2017 totaled over 5.9 trillion yuan, posting an average annual growth of 11.7 percent, said the newspaper citing a report from the State Council.

The ever-increasing government input in the healthcare program has continuously cut people's spending in this regard.

In 2017, personal spending on healthcare shared 28.8 percent of the total expenses, a record low during the past two decades, read the report.

As of the end of 2017, more than 8 million impoverished people received inpatient treatment or special medical services for chronic diseases, covering nearly 95 percent of patients with serious or chronic illnesses, it said.

Staff members work at a hospital's pharmacy in Shanghai in April. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The Chinese government earmarked more than 1.5 trillion yuan (about 222 billion US dollars) for its healthcare sector in 2018, 84 billion yuan more than the previous year, Health News reported on May 17.

The country's fiscal expenditure on healthcare between 2013 and 2017 totaled over 5.9 trillion yuan, posting an average annual growth of 11.7 percent, said the newspaper citing a report from the State Council.

The ever-increasing government input in the healthcare program has continuously cut people's spending in this regard.

In 2017, personal spending on healthcare shared 28.8 percent of the total expenses, a record low during the past two decades, read the report.

As of the end of 2017, more than 8 million impoverished people received inpatient treatment or special medical services for chronic diseases, covering nearly 95 percent of patients with serious or chronic illnesses, it said.

Doctors examine villagers in Dianjiang county, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, on Jan 19, 2019. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - China has launched a campaign on healthcare knowledge and medical services for elderly citizens in provincial-level regions in the west of the country.

The campaign consists of a series of events, including healthcare lectures at local elderly care facilities, promotion of healthcare knowledge at local communities and free on-site clinics for local elderly people, Health News reported.

The campaign is organized by the China Population Welfare Foundation and overseen by the Department on Ageing and Health of China's National Health Commission.

According to the schedule, the campaign will tour 12 provincial-level regions including Tibet autonomous region, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Sichuan province.

In a rapidly aging society, the demand for elderly healthcare services is always rising, said Wang Jianjun, deputy head of the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging at the campaign's launching ceremony, saying that establishing an elderly healthcare system accessible to both urban and rural citizens is a priority.

Doctors examine villagers in Dianjiang county, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, on Jan 19, 2019. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - China has launched a campaign on healthcare knowledge and medical services for elderly citizens in provincial-level regions in the west of the country.

The campaign consists of a series of events, including healthcare lectures at local elderly care facilities, promotion of healthcare knowledge at local communities and free on-site clinics for local elderly people, Health News reported.

The campaign is organized by the China Population Welfare Foundation and overseen by the Department on Ageing and Health of China's National Health Commission.

According to the schedule, the campaign will tour 12 provincial-level regions including Tibet autonomous region, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Sichuan province.

In a rapidly aging society, the demand for elderly healthcare services is always rising, said Wang Jianjun, deputy head of the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging at the campaign's launching ceremony, saying that establishing an elderly healthcare system accessible to both urban and rural citizens is a priority.

Doctors examine villagers in Dianjiang county, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, on Jan 19, 2019. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - China has launched a campaign on healthcare knowledge and medical services for elderly citizens in provincial-level regions in the west of the country.

The campaign consists of a series of events, including healthcare lectures at local elderly care facilities, promotion of healthcare knowledge at local communities and free on-site clinics for local elderly people, Health News reported.

The campaign is organized by the China Population Welfare Foundation and overseen by the Department on Ageing and Health of China's National Health Commission.

According to the schedule, the campaign will tour 12 provincial-level regions including Tibet autonomous region, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Sichuan province.

In a rapidly aging society, the demand for elderly healthcare services is always rising, said Wang Jianjun, deputy head of the Office of the National Working Commission on Aging at the campaign's launching ceremony, saying that establishing an elderly healthcare system accessible to both urban and rural citizens is a priority.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a written instruction to a video and telephone conference on medical reforms held in Beijing on May 17.

Hailing the achievements made in major tasks of medical reforms last year, including centralized medicine procurement and lower prices of anticancer drugs, Li extended sincere greetings to participants in medical reforms and medical workers.

Li called for the in-depth implementation of the Healthy China initiative, and more health promotion activities with extensive coverage.

Li urged strengthened screening tests of major diseases and improved prevention of commonly-seen chronic diseases.

He also stressed the role of basic medical insurance and called for increased reimbursement rate of serious disease insurance.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also head of the State Council's health reform leading group, attended the conference.

Sun echoed Li's instruction and demanded more efforts on disease prevention.

She also stressed medical measures in poverty alleviation.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a written instruction to a video and telephone conference on medical reforms held in Beijing on May 17.

Hailing the achievements made in major tasks of medical reforms last year, including centralized medicine procurement and lower prices of anticancer drugs, Li extended sincere greetings to participants in medical reforms and medical workers.

Li called for the in-depth implementation of the Healthy China initiative, and more health promotion activities with extensive coverage.

Li urged strengthened screening tests of major diseases and improved prevention of commonly-seen chronic diseases.

He also stressed the role of basic medical insurance and called for increased reimbursement rate of serious disease insurance.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also head of the State Council's health reform leading group, attended the conference.

Sun echoed Li's instruction and demanded more efforts on disease prevention.

She also stressed medical measures in poverty alleviation.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a written instruction to a video and telephone conference on medical reforms held in Beijing on May 17.

Hailing the achievements made in major tasks of medical reforms last year, including centralized medicine procurement and lower prices of anticancer drugs, Li extended sincere greetings to participants in medical reforms and medical workers.

Li called for the in-depth implementation of the Healthy China initiative, and more health promotion activities with extensive coverage.

Li urged strengthened screening tests of major diseases and improved prevention of commonly-seen chronic diseases.

He also stressed the role of basic medical insurance and called for increased reimbursement rate of serious disease insurance.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also head of the State Council's health reform leading group, attended the conference.

Sun echoed Li's instruction and demanded more efforts on disease prevention.

She also stressed medical measures in poverty alleviation.

The document was jointly issued by the Hypertension Branch of the Chinese Geriatrics Society and the National Clinical Research Center of the Geriatric Diseases.

Experts suggest a slow and cautious approach in lowering blood pressure for the elderly.

May 17 is World Hypertension Day.

The new guidelines provide the knowledge base for healthcare providers to advise patients on what they can do to help prevent cognitive decline and dementia. Specific recommendations to reduce the risk of dementia include regular physical activity, not smoking, healthy and balanced diet, avoiding hazardous and harmful drinking of alcohol, cognitive training for older adults, and social participation and social support.

The WHO also advocates proper management of a range of health indicators as ages grow, such as that of mid-life overweight and obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, depression, and hearing loss.

The guidelines will be useful for governments, policy-makers and planning authorities to guide them in developing policy and designing programs that encourage healthy lifestyles, the WHO said.

The WHO strongly recommends that countries manage the growing health challenge of dementia by creating national policies and plans, an essential element of which is support for carers of people with dementia.

Dementia is an illness characterized by a deterioration in cognitive function beyond what might be expected from normal ageing. It affects memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language and judgement. Dementia results from a variety of diseases and injuries that affect the brain, such as Alzheimer disease or stroke.

The WHO statistics show that dementia is a rapidly growing global public health problem. Worldwide, around 50 million people have dementia, with nearly 60 percent living in low- and middle-income countries.

The total number of people with dementia is projected to reach 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050.

While age is the strongest known risk factor for cognitive decline, dementia is not a natural or inevitable consequence of ageing, the WHO said. Studies have shown a relationship between the development of dementia with lifestyle related risk factors, certain medical conditions, and other risk factors such as social isolation and cognitive inactivity.

The project, launched in 2017, is intended to reduce the financial burdens of poor households by reimbursing patients for treatment expenses.

The number of reimbursable major diseases has increased from nine in 2017 to 25, including congenital heart diseases in children, gastric cancer and esophageal cancer, according to the commission.

Four diseases, namely multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, cerebral stroke, chronic obstructive emphysema and HIV-related opportunistic infection, have been added to 2019’s list.

Patients registered by local authorities as impoverished people can go to designated hospitals for diagnosis and treatment, and have their expenses reimbursed.

The commission said the burdens of medical expenses will be alleviated in 2019, and the practice of “treatment first, payment later” will be promoted.

The project, launched in 2017, is intended to reduce the financial burdens of poor households by reimbursing patients for treatment expenses.

The number of reimbursable major diseases has increased from nine in 2017 to 25, including congenital heart diseases in children, gastric cancer and esophageal cancer, according to the commission.

Four diseases, namely multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, cerebral stroke, chronic obstructive emphysema and HIV-related opportunistic infection, have been added to 2019’s list.

Patients registered by local authorities as impoverished people can go to designated hospitals for diagnosis and treatment, and have their expenses reimbursed.

The commission said the burdens of medical expenses will be alleviated in 2019, and the practice of “treatment first, payment later” will be promoted.

Gong Xiaoming, a specialist in uterine fibroids examines X-rays at his clinic. [Photo provided to China Daily]

China will encourage more qualified physicians to run their own clinics, either working full time or part time, according to a guideline jointly issued by the country's five authorities.

The guideline published on the official website of the National Health Commission said 10 cities including Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai and Nanjing will pilot a program for private medical practices, which will later expand throughout the country based on initial pilot experiences.

The government is stepping up efforts to improve medical services as medical resources in China are unevenly distributed, with patients crowding major public hospitals in big cities.

Currently, China has nearly 200,000 registered clinics in service, with each province boasting an average number of over 7,000. The average amount of medical practitioners in those institutions is 2.6, in which the average number of doctors is 1.4. A shortage of medical workers, lower-quality healthcare services and a lack of industry regulation represent the current problems that need improvement.

The guideline proposes streamlining the setup process for private clinics by lifting the restrictions on such clinics set by the country's medical institution planning system. Those who apply to run their own clinics can practice medicine as long as they are on record with local health administrations, eliminating the previous approval procedure which usually took a long time.

Doctors who have practiced medicine for at least five years and obtained intermediate-level or above qualifications are encouraged to run clinics for general or specialty medical practices. Group medical practices, which refers to a group in which doctors partner together to offer medical services to patients and share operational costs, are also encouraged. The guideline also supports private clinics to be incorporated into the medical treatment partnership system so medical resources could be widely shared.

To better improve the medical service quality of private clinics, the guideline states that the health administrations in pilot cities can include the clinics in the construction of the medical treatment partnership system if such clinics agree, and patients can freely transfer from one medical treatment service organization to another within the region.

The guideline requires provincial-level health authorities that administrate the pilot cities to create specific plans and start the pilot program by the end of September.

To supervise operations of the private clinics, the guideline encourages the pilot cities to evaluate the credit record of the private operators for credit ratings, and to establish a systematic and long-term enforcement mechanism.

Gong Xiaoming, a specialist in uterine fibroids examines X-rays at his clinic. [Photo provided to China Daily]

China will encourage more qualified physicians to run their own clinics, either working full time or part time, according to a guideline jointly issued by the country's five authorities.

The guideline published on the official website of the National Health Commission said 10 cities including Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai and Nanjing will pilot a program for private medical practices, which will later expand throughout the country based on initial pilot experiences.

The government is stepping up efforts to improve medical services as medical resources in China are unevenly distributed, with patients crowding major public hospitals in big cities.

Currently, China has nearly 200,000 registered clinics in service, with each province boasting an average number of over 7,000. The average amount of medical practitioners in those institutions is 2.6, in which the average number of doctors is 1.4. A shortage of medical workers, lower-quality healthcare services and a lack of industry regulation represent the current problems that need improvement.

The guideline proposes streamlining the setup process for private clinics by lifting the restrictions on such clinics set by the country's medical institution planning system. Those who apply to run their own clinics can practice medicine as long as they are on record with local health administrations, eliminating the previous approval procedure which usually took a long time.

Doctors who have practiced medicine for at least five years and obtained intermediate-level or above qualifications are encouraged to run clinics for general or specialty medical practices. Group medical practices, which refers to a group in which doctors partner together to offer medical services to patients and share operational costs, are also encouraged. The guideline also supports private clinics to be incorporated into the medical treatment partnership system so medical resources could be widely shared.

To better improve the medical service quality of private clinics, the guideline states that the health administrations in pilot cities can include the clinics in the construction of the medical treatment partnership system if such clinics agree, and patients can freely transfer from one medical treatment service organization to another within the region.

The guideline requires provincial-level health authorities that administrate the pilot cities to create specific plans and start the pilot program by the end of September.

To supervise operations of the private clinics, the guideline encourages the pilot cities to evaluate the credit record of the private operators for credit ratings, and to establish a systematic and long-term enforcement mechanism.

Gong Xiaoming, a specialist in uterine fibroids examines X-rays at his clinic. [Photo provided to China Daily]

China will encourage more qualified physicians to run their own clinics, either working full time or part time, according to a guideline jointly issued by the country's five authorities.

The guideline published on the official website of the National Health Commission said 10 cities including Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai and Nanjing will pilot a program for private medical practices, which will later expand throughout the country based on initial pilot experiences.

The government is stepping up efforts to improve medical services as medical resources in China are unevenly distributed, with patients crowding major public hospitals in big cities.

Currently, China has nearly 200,000 registered clinics in service, with each province boasting an average number of over 7,000. The average amount of medical practitioners in those institutions is 2.6, in which the average number of doctors is 1.4. A shortage of medical workers, lower-quality healthcare services and a lack of industry regulation represent the current problems that need improvement.

The guideline proposes streamlining the setup process for private clinics by lifting the restrictions on such clinics set by the country's medical institution planning system. Those who apply to run their own clinics can practice medicine as long as they are on record with local health administrations, eliminating the previous approval procedure which usually took a long time.

Doctors who have practiced medicine for at least five years and obtained intermediate-level or above qualifications are encouraged to run clinics for general or specialty medical practices. Group medical practices, which refers to a group in which doctors partner together to offer medical services to patients and share operational costs, are also encouraged. The guideline also supports private clinics to be incorporated into the medical treatment partnership system so medical resources could be widely shared.

To better improve the medical service quality of private clinics, the guideline states that the health administrations in pilot cities can include the clinics in the construction of the medical treatment partnership system if such clinics agree, and patients can freely transfer from one medical treatment service organization to another within the region.

The guideline requires provincial-level health authorities that administrate the pilot cities to create specific plans and start the pilot program by the end of September.

To supervise operations of the private clinics, the guideline encourages the pilot cities to evaluate the credit record of the private operators for credit ratings, and to establish a systematic and long-term enforcement mechanism.

Gong Xiaoming, a specialist in uterine fibroids examines X-rays at his clinic. [Photo provided to China Daily]

China will encourage more qualified physicians to run their own clinics, either working full time or part time, according to a guideline jointly issued by the country's five authorities.

The guideline published on the official website of the National Health Commission said 10 cities including Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai and Nanjing will pilot a program for private medical practices, which will later expand throughout the country based on initial pilot experiences.

The government is stepping up efforts to improve medical services as medical resources in China are unevenly distributed, with patients crowding major public hospitals in big cities.

Currently, China has nearly 200,000 registered clinics in service, with each province boasting an average number of over 7,000. The average amount of medical practitioners in those institutions is 2.6, in which the average number of doctors is 1.4. A shortage of medical workers, lower-quality healthcare services and a lack of industry regulation represent the current problems that need improvement.

The guideline proposes streamlining the setup process for private clinics by lifting the restrictions on such clinics set by the country's medical institution planning system. Those who apply to run their own clinics can practice medicine as long as they are on record with local health administrations, eliminating the previous approval procedure which usually took a long time.

Doctors who have practiced medicine for at least five years and obtained intermediate-level or above qualifications are encouraged to run clinics for general or specialty medical practices. Group medical practices, which refers to a group in which doctors partner together to offer medical services to patients and share operational costs, are also encouraged. The guideline also supports private clinics to be incorporated into the medical treatment partnership system so medical resources could be widely shared.

To better improve the medical service quality of private clinics, the guideline states that the health administrations in pilot cities can include the clinics in the construction of the medical treatment partnership system if such clinics agree, and patients can freely transfer from one medical treatment service organization to another within the region.

The guideline requires provincial-level health authorities that administrate the pilot cities to create specific plans and start the pilot program by the end of September.

To supervise operations of the private clinics, the guideline encourages the pilot cities to evaluate the credit record of the private operators for credit ratings, and to establish a systematic and long-term enforcement mechanism.

It aims at dealing with birth defects in a positive manner and setting up an authoritative, scientific and normative national professional standard for genetic counselors, which will be completed by the end of the year.

The committee consists of 43 authoritative experts from 24 provincial-level regions across the country. According to the NHC, there is still a severe shortage of genetic counselors in China.

Experts believe strengthening the country's capacity of genetic counseling meets the urgent demand of adjusting and improving birth policies and is a practical approach to further carry out the Healthy China initiative.

It aims at dealing with birth defects in a positive manner and setting up an authoritative, scientific and normative national professional standard for genetic counselors, which will be completed by the end of the year.

The committee consists of 43 authoritative experts from 24 provincial-level regions across the country. According to the NHC, there is still a severe shortage of genetic counselors in China.

Experts believe strengthening the country's capacity of genetic counseling meets the urgent demand of adjusting and improving birth policies and is a practical approach to further carry out the Healthy China initiative.

Xie Yadong (back) and his colleague fill work forms in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong (R) and colleagues transfer a patient in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong cares for a patient in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong works in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong sets monitor in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong (back) and colleague roll a patient over in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong cares for a patient in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong (back) and his colleague fill work forms in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong (R) and colleagues transfer a patient in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong cares for a patient in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong works in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong sets monitor in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong (back) and colleague roll a patient over in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xie Yadong cares for a patient in RICU at Henan People's Hospital in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, May 10, 2019. The 29-year-old male nurse Xie Yadong has worked in RICU at Henan People's Hospital for five years. [Photo/Xinhua]

Sweet wormwood was used in ancient Chinese therapy to treat various illnesses, including fevers typical of malaria. Nearly five decades ago, Chinese scientists identified its active ingredient, artemisinin.

In 2005, the World Health Organization recommended Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs) as the most effective malaria treatment available. Global demand for artemisinin then increased, but the quality and supply have not been stable.

According to researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, due to its complex structure, artemisinin is currently difficult and not economically feasible to chemically synthesize.

The traditional industrial method to produce artemisinin is to treat sweet wormwood leaves with organic solvents like petroleum ether.

The extraction process is long, energy consumption is high and productivity is low.

In the study, the IPE researchers proposed to enhance the contact between the solvent and the leaves by reflux to speed up the artemisinin extraction.

The extraction time was reduced from seven hours to four and a half hours.

After treating sweet wormwood leaves with solvents, they optimized the evaporation process with a thin film evaporator, an apparatus that provides a continuous evaporation process, especially for heat-sensitive products, to retrieve the solvents.

Compared to the traditional process, the time it takes to produce the artemisinin concentrate is reduced by 87.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the purity of the final product is increased to more than 99 percent, and energy consumption is also reduced.

The new technology makes the recovery of the solvents reach 99.9 percent, energy consumption per ton of artemisinin drop by 43 percent and the product purity is higher than 99 percent, said Wang Hui from the IPE.

"This technology solves the main shortcomings in the traditional artemisinin production process and could also provide ideas for other natural products production," said Zhang Suojiang, the director of IPE.

Pharmacists work at a hospital in Enshi, Central China's Hubei province. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China has issued a provisional plan to enhance the reporting and management of data from hospitals nationwide.

Hospitals are asked to report data on medical quality and security, medical services and hospital revenue, among others, according to the plan issued by the National Health Commission (NHC).

Hospitals should also report their proportion of revenue from sales of medicines and the use of anti-bacterial medicines and basic medicines.

The plan also asked hospitals to report data related to prescriptions, such as the number of prescriptions on anti-bacterial medicines, narcotic drugs and psychotropic drugs.

Reporting of data on the use of hospital beds is also required.

The collected data could play a big role in the future formulation of medical policies and the bidding and procurement of medicines, the NHC said.

Pharmacists work at a hospital in Enshi, Central China's Hubei province. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China has issued a provisional plan to enhance the reporting and management of data from hospitals nationwide.

Hospitals are asked to report data on medical quality and security, medical services and hospital revenue, among others, according to the plan issued by the National Health Commission (NHC).

Hospitals should also report their proportion of revenue from sales of medicines and the use of anti-bacterial medicines and basic medicines.

The plan also asked hospitals to report data related to prescriptions, such as the number of prescriptions on anti-bacterial medicines, narcotic drugs and psychotropic drugs.

Reporting of data on the use of hospital beds is also required.

The collected data could play a big role in the future formulation of medical policies and the bidding and procurement of medicines, the NHC said.

Yu made the remarks at a press briefing held by the State Council Information Office. He also noted that vocational training is in need to improve infant care workers' professional skills.

China now has about 50 million infants under the age of three. The number is expected to rise as the country has removed the one-child policy.

"Chinese higher vocational schools, colleges and universities enrolled 296,000 students for infant care-related majors last year," said Wang Dai, a vice inspector of the Department of Basic Education at the Ministry of Education.

The ministry has set up majors in infant education and nursery as well as infant health and development in higher vocational schools, colleges and universities in recent years, said Wang, adding that it is also revising teaching standards for nursing, early education and related majors for the current need.

Yu also noted authorities will strengthen supervision over infant care service providers and have zero tolerance for infant abuse.

China released a guideline Thursday to promote infant care, which called for early child development guidance for families as well as healthcare services for infants provided by communities, business entities and governments.

A pneumoconiosis patient shows the X-ray check result looking for possible bad effects of dust in his lungs at Liuzhai town in Xinmi city, Zhengzhou, Henan province in this file photo. [Photo/IC]

The National Health Commission will take steps to prevent new cases of a lung disease often associated with dusty occupations, a senior official said on May 13.

The campaign is "the most important and compelling work" the commission will conduct with several other ministries to curb the development of pneumoconiosis, the commission's vice-minister, Li Bin, said in a policy briefing.

Pneumoconiosis damages lungs and is caused by inhalation of different kinds of dust. It is the No 1 occupational disease in China, mostly in the mining industry.

Pneumoconiosis accounts for about 90 percent of reported occupational diseases, according to the commission. And patients are getting younger.

"China is at a stage of rapid industrialization and urbanization, and the issue of occupational diseases, which has been accumulating over the decades of extensive growth, is gradually starting to show," Li said.

A key task of the campaign is to complete a survey of the threat of dust poisoning, covering industries including mining, metallurgy and building materials by the end of 2020, and to hold companies accountable for preventing the hazard, a commission document said.

The campaign also aims to have employers who generate large amounts of dust suspend their businesses and overhaul working conditions, and will ask local authorities to shut down those that cannot improve.

The campaign aims for more rigorous inspections of high-dust employers and to punish those who violate laws and regulations. It will also urge employers to sign contracts with their employees and join occupational injury insurance.

A major problem related to pneumoconiosis is diagnosis and compensation, as its latency period can be decades. By the time patients seek medical help they might find their employers long closed, or they may realize they haven't signed a labor contract and therefore can't provide documents often needed for the diagnosis.

Also, a large number of migrant workers have not joined occupational injury insurance programs, increasing their financial challenges in treating the lifelong disease, according to the commission.

The commission is working with other ministries and departments to improve policies and provide better insurance to such patients, Li said.

In 2018, the commission asked health authorities in all provinces to cover pneumoconiosis patients in their efforts to relieve financial burdens and ease the task of applying for assistance by impoverished people in rural areas.

Babies wash up after enjoying a swim with their parents at a center in Wuhan, Hubei province, in January. MIAO JIAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Authorities have zero tolerance for abuse of children in care centers

Authorities will step up oversight of infant care centers to ensure the safety of toddlers, an official said on Friday, as the country moves to bolster the growth of care services for children under three years old.

China will encourage more services for toddlers to bolster support for families and meet growing public demand, according to a guideline published by the General Office of the State Council on May 9.

Yu Xuejun, vice-minister with the National Health Commission, said authorities have zero tolerance for abuse of children.

"Those who are found responsible for abuse will be subject to a lifelong ban from the sector," he said. Reports of child abuse in kindergartens and day care centers in Beijing and Shanghai over the last two years have spurred a public outroar.

Child care has become a prominent issue for parents after the country allowed couples to have two children starting in 2016. There are currently about 50 million children under 3 years old, according to the National Health Commission.

To meet the mounting public demand for toddler care, the guideline called for local authorities to include such facilities in the planning of new residential areas. For existing residential areas without such facilities, measures must be adopted to purchase or rent grounds to allow for their development.

Ou Xiaoli, head of the social development department of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the commission will enable care services to be included in key development plans and encourage more private investment in the sector.

The priority is to boost the supply of equitable and affordable services for the general public, he added.

The guideline included measures to encourage employers to enable parents of infants to work flexible hours.

It also required medical workers to pay more visits to families with newborns to provide guidance on nutrition, childrens' growth and disease prevention. Stay-at-home parents will also receive greater support in finding employment, including employment guidance and vocational skill training.

Wang Xiaojun, an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said that measures will be adopted to address the shortage of baby sitters.

"More subsidies will be made available to attract more practitioners and institutions to offer training sessions," she said.

Babies wash up after enjoying a swim with their parents at a center in Wuhan, Hubei province, in January. MIAO JIAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Authorities have zero tolerance for abuse of children in care centers

Authorities will step up oversight of infant care centers to ensure the safety of toddlers, an official said on Friday, as the country moves to bolster the growth of care services for children under three years old.

China will encourage more services for toddlers to bolster support for families and meet growing public demand, according to a guideline published by the General Office of the State Council on May 9.

Yu Xuejun, vice-minister with the National Health Commission, said authorities have zero tolerance for abuse of children.

"Those who are found responsible for abuse will be subject to a lifelong ban from the sector," he said. Reports of child abuse in kindergartens and day care centers in Beijing and Shanghai over the last two years have spurred a public outroar.

Child care has become a prominent issue for parents after the country allowed couples to have two children starting in 2016. There are currently about 50 million children under 3 years old, according to the National Health Commission.

To meet the mounting public demand for toddler care, the guideline called for local authorities to include such facilities in the planning of new residential areas. For existing residential areas without such facilities, measures must be adopted to purchase or rent grounds to allow for their development.

Ou Xiaoli, head of the social development department of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the commission will enable care services to be included in key development plans and encourage more private investment in the sector.

The priority is to boost the supply of equitable and affordable services for the general public, he added.

The guideline included measures to encourage employers to enable parents of infants to work flexible hours.

It also required medical workers to pay more visits to families with newborns to provide guidance on nutrition, childrens' growth and disease prevention. Stay-at-home parents will also receive greater support in finding employment, including employment guidance and vocational skill training.

Wang Xiaojun, an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said that measures will be adopted to address the shortage of baby sitters.

"More subsidies will be made available to attract more practitioners and institutions to offer training sessions," she said.

Babies wash up after enjoying a swim with their parents at a center in Wuhan, Hubei province, in January. MIAO JIAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Authorities have zero tolerance for abuse of children in care centers

Authorities will step up oversight of infant care centers to ensure the safety of toddlers, an official said on Friday, as the country moves to bolster the growth of care services for children under three years old.

China will encourage more services for toddlers to bolster support for families and meet growing public demand, according to a guideline published by the General Office of the State Council on May 9.

Yu Xuejun, vice-minister with the National Health Commission, said authorities have zero tolerance for abuse of children.

"Those who are found responsible for abuse will be subject to a lifelong ban from the sector," he said. Reports of child abuse in kindergartens and day care centers in Beijing and Shanghai over the last two years have spurred a public outroar.

Child care has become a prominent issue for parents after the country allowed couples to have two children starting in 2016. There are currently about 50 million children under 3 years old, according to the National Health Commission.

To meet the mounting public demand for toddler care, the guideline called for local authorities to include such facilities in the planning of new residential areas. For existing residential areas without such facilities, measures must be adopted to purchase or rent grounds to allow for their development.

Ou Xiaoli, head of the social development department of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the commission will enable care services to be included in key development plans and encourage more private investment in the sector.

The priority is to boost the supply of equitable and affordable services for the general public, he added.

The guideline included measures to encourage employers to enable parents of infants to work flexible hours.

It also required medical workers to pay more visits to families with newborns to provide guidance on nutrition, childrens' growth and disease prevention. Stay-at-home parents will also receive greater support in finding employment, including employment guidance and vocational skill training.

Wang Xiaojun, an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said that measures will be adopted to address the shortage of baby sitters.

"More subsidies will be made available to attract more practitioners and institutions to offer training sessions," she said.

The International Nurses Day falls on May 12. With the theme in China of "Developing nurses services and realizing universal health", the activities will focus on nurses' physical and mental health and to publicize their professional spirits of humanity, philanthropism and dedication.

NHC calls for more attention and care for nurses. The health authorities and TCM administration are asked to take measures to care for the nurses, such as visiting nurses especially those working at grassroots hospitals and in impoverished areas to learn about their difficulties, improving their working environment and guaranteeing their occupational security.

The health authorities and administrations are required to launch campaigns to publicize nursing service progress, good practices and nurses professional spirits so the public will deeply understand and respect those in the nursing sector, said the NHC.

China will continue to develop nursing services, said China's top health authority, adding that the health authorities should fully understand the big role of nursing in promoting a healthy China and coping with ageing and appreciate the major progress made and practices developed since the founding of the People's Republic of China. They should take effective measure to strengthen China's nursing teams and fulfill the theme of this year's International Nurses Day.

In 2015, the condition accounted for about 17 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer cases among women in the country, a rise of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year, according to a recent report.

The report, which is published annually by the National Cancer Center, looks at the rates of cancer incidence, survival and mortality by compiling and analyzing data submitted by nearly 370 registries nationwide.

The center said the report, which was published in January, is indicative of the epidemiological trends of malignant tumors - that is, the distribution of the disease and related risk factors - in 2015, when about 304,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, up from nearly 280,000 cases in 2014.

The uptick came against a backdrop of the rising incidence of all types of cancer. Total cancer cases registered an average annual rise of 3.9 percent from 2005 to 2015, when more than 3.9 million new cases were diagnosed.

Compared with patients with other types of malignant tumor, those with breast cancer have a much higher five-year survival rate. Between 2010 and 2014, the figure was 83.2 percent, up from 70 percent at the beginning of the century. The overall national survival rate for all types of cancer is about 40 percent.

However, despite being the most common cancer among women in China, breast cancer is only the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths, after lung, gastric, liver and colorectal.

About 70,000 women died from breast cancer in 2015, accounting for roughly 8 percent of total cancer deaths, a rise from 66,000 in 2014.

However, the national survival rate for breast cancer still lags behind the overall rate in developed countries, which has been about 91 percent in recent years.

The report attributes the difference to low rates of early diagnosis, insufficient early-stage treatment and substandard treatment for late-stage patients.

In response, the National Cancer Center has called for the expansion of screening programs, as well as improved early detection and treatment.

The report also noted that, in general, the number of new cancer cases climbs rapidly among people age 40 and older, but peaks among those in their 80s. By contrast, the onset of the rising incidence of breast cancer begins at about age 30 and peaks at about 55.

The data show that urban females are at higher risk of contracting breast cancer: in 2015, about 54 female urban dwellers per 100,000 were diagnosed with the disease, compared with 34 per 100,000 in rural areas.

According to Xu Binghe, from the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, incidence rates for breast cancer worldwide have been rising for several years, but the global death rate has fallen steadily as a result of advances in surgery, radiation therapies and chemotherapy.

Speaking in August at the 2018 Chinese Conference on Oncology in Shenyang, Liaoning province, Xu said more needs to be done in terms of promoting public awareness of early-screening measures, establishing more radiotherapy facilities and strengthening the use of agents that can be used to boost pharmaceutical treatments.

Xu added that a wealth of evidence indicates that breast cancer is likely to be the first curable malignant tumor, and eventually even late-stage breast cancer will be treated as a chronic, rather than a terminal, illness.

The country will guarantee maternity leave and encourage employers to enable employees who are parents of infants to work flexible hours, said the guideline.

The government will support stay-at-home parents in finding employment, providing related information, employment guidance and vocational skill training.

The guideline also called for early child development guidance for families as well as healthcare services for infants provided by the government.

The country will support the development of various types of infant care facilities and will encourage employers to offer infant care services in the workplace.

Measures will be taken to promote infant care facilities in communities, especially in crowded neighborhoods, according to the guideline.

The guideline also noted that China will strengthen supervision over infant care service providers and will require professional qualifications for infant care workers.

The country will guarantee maternity leave and encourage employers to enable employees who are parents of infants to work flexible hours, said the guideline.

The government will support stay-at-home parents in finding employment, providing related information, employment guidance and vocational skill training.

The guideline also called for early child development guidance for families as well as healthcare services for infants provided by the government.

The country will support the development of various types of infant care facilities and will encourage employers to offer infant care services in the workplace.

Measures will be taken to promote infant care facilities in communities, especially in crowded neighborhoods, according to the guideline.

The guideline also noted that China will strengthen supervision over infant care service providers and will require professional qualifications for infant care workers.

The country will guarantee maternity leave and encourage employers to enable employees who are parents of infants to work flexible hours, said the guideline.

The government will support stay-at-home parents in finding employment, providing related information, employment guidance and vocational skill training.

The guideline also called for early child development guidance for families as well as healthcare services for infants provided by the government.

The country will support the development of various types of infant care facilities and will encourage employers to offer infant care services in the workplace.

Measures will be taken to promote infant care facilities in communities, especially in crowded neighborhoods, according to the guideline.

The guideline also noted that China will strengthen supervision over infant care service providers and will require professional qualifications for infant care workers.

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission(R), meets with Hugo Mattheüs de Jonge, deputy prime minister and minister of health, welfare and sport of the Netherlands on May 7 in Beijing. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission, met with Hugo Mattheüs de Jonge, deputy prime minister and minister of health, welfare and sport of the Netherlands on May 7 in Beijing.

Ma and de Jonge signed an MoU on healthcare and public health.

Ma introduced China's policies and measures on healthy ageing, adding that the Netherlands and China share a huge cooperative potential in the area since the two countries facing similar challenges although their ageing societies are in different phases.

The two sides are encouraged to further cooperate and exchange in fields such as long-term care, nurses training and smart elderly healthcare to improve people's health, according to Ma.

De Jonge spoke highly of China's progress on elderly health and the two sides' health cooperation. He said the Netherlands is willing to have more communications with China on common interest areas and promote cooperation between professional institutions.

Thalassemia are inherited blood disorders characterized by abnormal hemoglobin production. Symptoms can vary from none to severe; often there is mild to severe anemia or low red blood cells.

Since 2015, China has been implementing a prevention and control program in ten high-incidence provincial-level regions, providing free gene examination and antenatal diagnosis.

Thalassemia has been effectively controlled in regions including south China's Guangdong Province, and birth rates of infants with heavy thalassemia have gradually decreased, sources with the National Health Commission said at a themed publicity event in Guangdong Wednesday, which marked the 26th World Thalassemia Day.

Provincial-level regions south of the Yangtze River including Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan are high incidence areas for the disease. The gene carriage rate in Guangdong is 16.83 percent.

Thalassemia are inherited blood disorders characterized by abnormal hemoglobin production. Symptoms can vary from none to severe; often there is mild to severe anemia or low red blood cells.

Since 2015, China has been implementing a prevention and control program in ten high-incidence provincial-level regions, providing free gene examination and antenatal diagnosis.

Thalassemia has been effectively controlled in regions including south China's Guangdong Province, and birth rates of infants with heavy thalassemia have gradually decreased, sources with the National Health Commission said at a themed publicity event in Guangdong Wednesday, which marked the 26th World Thalassemia Day.

Provincial-level regions south of the Yangtze River including Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan are high incidence areas for the disease. The gene carriage rate in Guangdong is 16.83 percent.

Surgery, conducted in a hospital in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, is connected live to a remote hospital in northern Guangdong with the help of 5G technology, April 1, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

FUZHOU - China's medical authority said on May 8 that 158 Internet hospitals had been built, as a lack of medical resources in the countryside and congestion in large urban hospitals are prompting the country to offer medical services online.

Mao Qun'an, a director of the National Health Commission, said at the second Digital China Summit that 19 provinces, or over half of China's provincial-level regions, had established provincial telemedicine platforms.

The central government has also earmarked 670 million yuan (99 million US dollars) in special funds to add telemedical and other equipment in primary-level health institutions in impoverished counties.

The commission is now working to realize online services in second and tertiary hospitals, he said. China's has a three-tier hospital grading system with the tertiary being the highest.

Internet hospitals refer to those offering medical services, such as consultation and diagnosis, online. In particular, they are expected to help tackle the scarcity of medical equipment and practitioners in some parts of China.

The three-day Digital China Summit, which concluded on Wednesday, highlights the latest information technologies that have swept through the country's government, industries and society.

Surgery, conducted in a hospital in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, is connected live to a remote hospital in northern Guangdong with the help of 5G technology, April 1, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

FUZHOU - China's medical authority said on May 8 that 158 Internet hospitals had been built, as a lack of medical resources in the countryside and congestion in large urban hospitals are prompting the country to offer medical services online.

Mao Qun'an, a director of the National Health Commission, said at the second Digital China Summit that 19 provinces, or over half of China's provincial-level regions, had established provincial telemedicine platforms.

The central government has also earmarked 670 million yuan (99 million US dollars) in special funds to add telemedical and other equipment in primary-level health institutions in impoverished counties.

The commission is now working to realize online services in second and tertiary hospitals, he said. China's has a three-tier hospital grading system with the tertiary being the highest.

Internet hospitals refer to those offering medical services, such as consultation and diagnosis, online. In particular, they are expected to help tackle the scarcity of medical equipment and practitioners in some parts of China.

The three-day Digital China Summit, which concluded on Wednesday, highlights the latest information technologies that have swept through the country's government, industries and society.

Surgery, conducted in a hospital in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, is connected live to a remote hospital in northern Guangdong with the help of 5G technology, April 1, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

FUZHOU - China's medical authority said on May 8 that 158 Internet hospitals had been built, as a lack of medical resources in the countryside and congestion in large urban hospitals are prompting the country to offer medical services online.

Mao Qun'an, a director of the National Health Commission, said at the second Digital China Summit that 19 provinces, or over half of China's provincial-level regions, had established provincial telemedicine platforms.

The central government has also earmarked 670 million yuan (99 million US dollars) in special funds to add telemedical and other equipment in primary-level health institutions in impoverished counties.

The commission is now working to realize online services in second and tertiary hospitals, he said. China's has a three-tier hospital grading system with the tertiary being the highest.

Internet hospitals refer to those offering medical services, such as consultation and diagnosis, online. In particular, they are expected to help tackle the scarcity of medical equipment and practitioners in some parts of China.

The three-day Digital China Summit, which concluded on Wednesday, highlights the latest information technologies that have swept through the country's government, industries and society.

Nurses participate in a skills competition at a traditional Chinese medicine hospital in Sanjiang Dong autonomous county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Wednesday, ahead of International Nurses Day on Sunday. GONG PUKANG/FOR CHINA DAILY

Health authorities will redouble their efforts to train nurses in eldercare as the proportion of older people in the population expands and tens of millions of people struggle with disabilities, a senior health official said on Wednesday.

Jiao Yahui, deputy chief of medical administration and supervision at the National Health Commission, said there are not enough nurses to cope with the growing needs of the country's elderly.

A regulation on the training of healthcare workers and standards of service is being drafted. It is expected to boost the number of nurse's aides, Jiao said ahead of International Nurses Day on Sunday.

The nurse's aides will complement the work of full-fledged nurses to meet the demand for services for the elderly, she said.

The number of registered nurses in China topped 4 million as of the end of last year. Nearly 70 percent held a junior college degree or above, accounting for almost half of all healthcare professionals, she said.

Last year, there were 150 million people 60 years or above living with chronic diseases in China. Of those, 44 million were fully or partially disabled and in need of regular nursing services, she said.

"With more nurses and nurse's aides, the demand for nursing services from the elderly will be gradually met," she said.

The commission will also encourage community health centers to provide more nursing services for the elderly in neighborhoods, Jiao said. They would include more beds and setting up day-care centers.

Regulations will also be released to encourage community health centers to provide beds to the elderly at home, so family doctors can provide treatment there, she said.

"The disabled, whether fully or partial, will be the priority in nursing services," Jiao said. "We will release a detailed standard for evaluating nursing services for the disabled elderly population, including psychological needs, so the services will aim precisely at those most in need," she said.

Xi Huan, vice-president of Beijing Hospital, said major medical institutions need to make more efforts to improve services for the elderly, including the promotion of disease prevention education and increased follow-up visits for elderly patients who have been discharged from the hospital.

"Big hospitals should provide more help for elderly patients, and more follow-up nursing services after they leave the hospital, so they can get timely help if problems occur at home or at community health centers," he said.

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC) inspects a community health center of Dongshan street, Jiangning district, Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC), inspected comprehensive medical reform in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province on Apr 25 and 26.

Wang and his delegation learned about reform progress as they visited two grassroots hospitals in Jiangning district of Nanjing and talked with their medical workers face to face.

They also held a symposium to learn the comprehensive medical reform and the province's typical measures.

Wang affirmed Jiangsu's reform achievements. He said that reform should focus on making medical services affordable and accessible as well as strengthening hospital management, adding that the reform should also improve medical resources distribution and intensify supervision and management of the health industry.

The medical reform needs more innovative mechanism and stronger leadership to strengthen monitoring and supervision and to actively publicize the reform and good practices, said Wang.

The move requires public hospitals to spend more on improving medical doctors' incomes instead of the hospitals' equipment or buildings. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING -- China's National Health Commission called on public hospitals to improve their management in a bid to promote healthcare quality and efficiency.

Public hospitals should enhance their service quality and economic benefits, said Ma Xiaowei, head of the commission.

The move requires public hospitals to spend more on improving medical doctors' incomes instead of the hospitals' equipment or buildings.

Improving public hospital management is an important measure to make medical treatment affordable for all, which is a major goal of China's deepened medical reform, Ma said.

According to Ma, China will promote partnerships between medical institutions of different levels across the country, improve medical services provided by county hospitals and facilitate wider access to telemedicine services in rural areas.

The country will also promote contracted family doctor services, which are provided by a group of doctors including general practitioners registered with grassroots health institutions, qualified doctors at township clinics and village doctors, Ma said.

The move requires public hospitals to spend more on improving medical doctors' incomes instead of the hospitals' equipment or buildings. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING -- China's National Health Commission called on public hospitals to improve their management in a bid to promote healthcare quality and efficiency.

Public hospitals should enhance their service quality and economic benefits, said Ma Xiaowei, head of the commission.

The move requires public hospitals to spend more on improving medical doctors' incomes instead of the hospitals' equipment or buildings.

Improving public hospital management is an important measure to make medical treatment affordable for all, which is a major goal of China's deepened medical reform, Ma said.

According to Ma, China will promote partnerships between medical institutions of different levels across the country, improve medical services provided by county hospitals and facilitate wider access to telemedicine services in rural areas.

The country will also promote contracted family doctor services, which are provided by a group of doctors including general practitioners registered with grassroots health institutions, qualified doctors at township clinics and village doctors, Ma said.

The move requires public hospitals to spend more on improving medical doctors' incomes instead of the hospitals' equipment or buildings. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING -- China's National Health Commission called on public hospitals to improve their management in a bid to promote healthcare quality and efficiency.

Public hospitals should enhance their service quality and economic benefits, said Ma Xiaowei, head of the commission.

The move requires public hospitals to spend more on improving medical doctors' incomes instead of the hospitals' equipment or buildings.

Improving public hospital management is an important measure to make medical treatment affordable for all, which is a major goal of China's deepened medical reform, Ma said.

According to Ma, China will promote partnerships between medical institutions of different levels across the country, improve medical services provided by county hospitals and facilitate wider access to telemedicine services in rural areas.

The country will also promote contracted family doctor services, which are provided by a group of doctors including general practitioners registered with grassroots health institutions, qualified doctors at township clinics and village doctors, Ma said.

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission inspects community hospital of Tiexinqiao, Nanjing's Yuhuatai district, East China's Jiangsu province on Apr 25. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

A pilot program on community-level hospitals construction started after a kick-off meeting held on Apr 25 in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province. Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC) addressed the meeting.

The construction of community-level hospitals should follow problem and goal orientations and be committed to providing the public with fair, accessible and quality basic health services, according to the meeting.

Community-level hospitals should be strengthened to promote the capability of grassroots medical services as well as the construction of tiered diagnosis and treatment institution, the meeting noted.

In addition, the pilot program needs to be implemented stably, taking targeted and coordinated measures to improve basic medical services and promote county-level as well as urban hospital alliances. The grassroots medical institutions should stick on their function orientation and to give same priority to diseases prevention and control.

Representatives from 20 pilot health and relevant departments at provincial, municipal or district level attended the meeting and visited the community hospital of Tiexinqiao, Yuhuatai district, Nanjing. 

During the 20-minute scan, three doctors in Guangzhou First People's Hospital operated via a 5G network a robotic arm that performed the ultrasound scan for a patient in a hospital in Guangzhou's Nansha district, and monitored the whole process through large screens in front of them.

The Guangzhou branch of China Unicom, a telecommunications operator, provided technical support to the remote ultrasound scan.

With the advantages of high transmission speed and low latency, 5G technology can solve the problem of time lag in audio and video online transmission, according to technicians with China Unicom.

Cao Jie, president of Guangzhou First People's Hospital, said his hospital plans to promote the application of 5G technology into more medical scenarios, including distant medical consultation, distant surgery instruction and emergency response.

Staff members work at a hospital's pharmacy in Shanghai in April. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China's health authority plans to pilot a program to use diversified means to supervise the medical services, Health News reported.

The newspaper said the National Health Commission has issued a circular on the work, and a meeting was held in Zhejiang to launch the program.

According to the report, the pilot program, which involves medical institution self-checks, relevant workers' self-discipline and government and public supervision, will be launched in 16 provincial-level regions including Beijing, Zhejiang and Hubei.

The program requires concrete measures by medical institutions in conducting self-checks and self-management to see that their incentives for proper practices are promoted.

Also, the roles of professional associations in formulating standards and regulations, improving personnel training, carrying out peer evaluation and regulating professional practices should be promoted to ensure better self-discipline of relevant practitioners.

The authorities called for more innovative and smart means by the government in relevant supervision.

In regard to public supervision, authorities said efforts should be made to make it easier for the public to report relevant violations as well as to explore a system of social supervisors of medical services.

Staff members work at a hospital's pharmacy in Shanghai in April. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China's health authority plans to pilot a program to use diversified means to supervise the medical services, Health News reported.

The newspaper said the National Health Commission has issued a circular on the work, and a meeting was held in Zhejiang to launch the program.

According to the report, the pilot program, which involves medical institution self-checks, relevant workers' self-discipline and government and public supervision, will be launched in 16 provincial-level regions including Beijing, Zhejiang and Hubei.

The program requires concrete measures by medical institutions in conducting self-checks and self-management to see that their incentives for proper practices are promoted.

Also, the roles of professional associations in formulating standards and regulations, improving personnel training, carrying out peer evaluation and regulating professional practices should be promoted to ensure better self-discipline of relevant practitioners.

The authorities called for more innovative and smart means by the government in relevant supervision.

In regard to public supervision, authorities said efforts should be made to make it easier for the public to report relevant violations as well as to explore a system of social supervisors of medical services.

[Photo/IC]

Children under age 6 should try their best not to use cellphones or computers, the National Health Commission has said, in a bid to protect them from nearsightedness, or myopia.

The commission also advised against parents using electronics in the presence of their children.

The advice came when the commission recently made public the results of a survey on myopia among children and youths.

The survey found that 53.6 percent of Chinese children and teenagers suffered from nearsightedness in 2018. The myopia rate was 14.5 percent for 6-year-olds in kindergarten, 36 percent for primary school students, 71.6 percent for junior middle school students, and 81 percent for senior middle school students.

The commission said age 0-6 is a critical time for vision development, and special emphasis should be put on the protection and health of eyesight at an early stage.

It added that one of the major causes of myopia is short-distance exposure over a long period of time to the electronic screens of cellphones, computers and televisions.

At primary and middle schools, teaching with electronics should be limited to no more than 30 percent of overall teaching time. During extracurricular periods, students should take a rest of 10 minutes after using electronic products for learning for 30-40 minutes. Electronic use not aimed at learning should be no more than 15 minutes per instance, with total use amounting to no more than one hour a day.

In addition, the commission made suggestions on outdoor exercises. It said children and teenagers should limit the continuous use of eyes in reading and writing to no more than 40 minutes and leave enough time for outdoor activities in the daytime. Teachers and parents should guide children to actively take part in exercises, with no less than two hours of outdoor activities in the daytime. Boarding kindergartens should have no less than three hours of outdoor activities a day.

China rolled out a scheme last year to curb the rise in nearsightedness among children and teenagers. The scheme, jointly issued by the Ministry of Education, the National Health Commission and six other departments, aims to keep the myopia rate among 6-year-olds at around 3 percent by 2030, and the rate among junior and senior high school students below 60 percent and 70 percent respectively.

[Photo/IC]

Children under age 6 should try their best not to use cellphones or computers, the National Health Commission has said, in a bid to protect them from nearsightedness, or myopia.

The commission also advised against parents using electronics in the presence of their children.

The advice came when the commission recently made public the results of a survey on myopia among children and youths.

The survey found that 53.6 percent of Chinese children and teenagers suffered from nearsightedness in 2018. The myopia rate was 14.5 percent for 6-year-olds in kindergarten, 36 percent for primary school students, 71.6 percent for junior middle school students, and 81 percent for senior middle school students.

The commission said age 0-6 is a critical time for vision development, and special emphasis should be put on the protection and health of eyesight at an early stage.

It added that one of the major causes of myopia is short-distance exposure over a long period of time to the electronic screens of cellphones, computers and televisions.

At primary and middle schools, teaching with electronics should be limited to no more than 30 percent of overall teaching time. During extracurricular periods, students should take a rest of 10 minutes after using electronic products for learning for 30-40 minutes. Electronic use not aimed at learning should be no more than 15 minutes per instance, with total use amounting to no more than one hour a day.

In addition, the commission made suggestions on outdoor exercises. It said children and teenagers should limit the continuous use of eyes in reading and writing to no more than 40 minutes and leave enough time for outdoor activities in the daytime. Teachers and parents should guide children to actively take part in exercises, with no less than two hours of outdoor activities in the daytime. Boarding kindergartens should have no less than three hours of outdoor activities a day.

China rolled out a scheme last year to curb the rise in nearsightedness among children and teenagers. The scheme, jointly issued by the Ministry of Education, the National Health Commission and six other departments, aims to keep the myopia rate among 6-year-olds at around 3 percent by 2030, and the rate among junior and senior high school students below 60 percent and 70 percent respectively.

[Photo/IC]

Children under age 6 should try their best not to use cellphones or computers, the National Health Commission has said, in a bid to protect them from nearsightedness, or myopia.

The commission also advised against parents using electronics in the presence of their children.

The advice came when the commission recently made public the results of a survey on myopia among children and youths.

The survey found that 53.6 percent of Chinese children and teenagers suffered from nearsightedness in 2018. The myopia rate was 14.5 percent for 6-year-olds in kindergarten, 36 percent for primary school students, 71.6 percent for junior middle school students, and 81 percent for senior middle school students.

The commission said age 0-6 is a critical time for vision development, and special emphasis should be put on the protection and health of eyesight at an early stage.

It added that one of the major causes of myopia is short-distance exposure over a long period of time to the electronic screens of cellphones, computers and televisions.

At primary and middle schools, teaching with electronics should be limited to no more than 30 percent of overall teaching time. During extracurricular periods, students should take a rest of 10 minutes after using electronic products for learning for 30-40 minutes. Electronic use not aimed at learning should be no more than 15 minutes per instance, with total use amounting to no more than one hour a day.

In addition, the commission made suggestions on outdoor exercises. It said children and teenagers should limit the continuous use of eyes in reading and writing to no more than 40 minutes and leave enough time for outdoor activities in the daytime. Teachers and parents should guide children to actively take part in exercises, with no less than two hours of outdoor activities in the daytime. Boarding kindergartens should have no less than three hours of outdoor activities a day.

China rolled out a scheme last year to curb the rise in nearsightedness among children and teenagers. The scheme, jointly issued by the Ministry of Education, the National Health Commission and six other departments, aims to keep the myopia rate among 6-year-olds at around 3 percent by 2030, and the rate among junior and senior high school students below 60 percent and 70 percent respectively.

Doctors examine villagers in Dianjiang county, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, on Jan 19, 2019. [Photo/IC]

China is moving to improve the use of information technology at the country's community-level medical institutions, Health News reported.

The National Health Commission and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have jointly issued a document on promoting IT application at community health service centers and township clinics, the newspaper said.

The document encouraged these institutions to use technologies such as cloud computing, big data and AI in their services.

According to the document, IT application will be advanced to improve services regarding health education, vaccination, family doctor contracting as well as health services for children and women.

It will also help better the health management work in aspects of public health emergency response, health services for elderly people and chronic disease and mental health management.

The document said community-level institutions should better use the internet to make more of their services available online, such as scheduling appointments, medical fee payment, treatment suggestions and diagnosis.

It also required institutions to use more advanced technologies in tracking the disposal of medical waste.

Doctors examine villagers in Dianjiang county, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, on Jan 19, 2019. [Photo/IC]

China is moving to improve the use of information technology at the country's community-level medical institutions, Health News reported.

The National Health Commission and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have jointly issued a document on promoting IT application at community health service centers and township clinics, the newspaper said.

The document encouraged these institutions to use technologies such as cloud computing, big data and AI in their services.

According to the document, IT application will be advanced to improve services regarding health education, vaccination, family doctor contracting as well as health services for children and women.

It will also help better the health management work in aspects of public health emergency response, health services for elderly people and chronic disease and mental health management.

The document said community-level institutions should better use the internet to make more of their services available online, such as scheduling appointments, medical fee payment, treatment suggestions and diagnosis.

It also required institutions to use more advanced technologies in tracking the disposal of medical waste.

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC), meets with his Laotian counterpart, Bounkong Syhavong, on Apr 25 in Beijing. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC), met with his Laotian counterpart Bounkong Syhavong on Apr 25 as the Laotian health minister participated in a sub-forum of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

They agreed to renew the MoU on health cooperation as soon as possible to build a win-win cooperative relationship in the field.

China and Laos are good neighbors and have launched programs on infectious diseases prevention and control, established medical service alliances as well as the China-Southeast Asia hospitals association, said Ma, adding that the two sides' pragmatic cooperation in many areas such as prevention and control of infectious diseases, medical services, medical talent training and hospital management contributed a lot to the two countries' peoples.  

China will continue to provide high-quality health services for residents near the China-Laos border and guard their health through online medical services, he said.

Syhavong agreed with Ma and spoke highly of health aid from China. He said Laos is willing to further health exchanges in many areas with China including human resources, hospital cooperation, traditional medicine and the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

With pragmatic cooperation people from the both sides will get benefits, added Syhavong.

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC), meets with his Laotian counterpart, Bounkong Syhavong, on Apr 25 in Beijing. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC), met with his Laotian counterpart Bounkong Syhavong on Apr 25 as the Laotian health minister participated in a sub-forum of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

They agreed to renew the MoU on health cooperation as soon as possible to build a win-win cooperative relationship in the field.

China and Laos are good neighbors and have launched programs on infectious diseases prevention and control, established medical service alliances as well as the China-Southeast Asia hospitals association, said Ma, adding that the two sides' pragmatic cooperation in many areas such as prevention and control of infectious diseases, medical services, medical talent training and hospital management contributed a lot to the two countries' peoples.  

China will continue to provide high-quality health services for residents near the China-Laos border and guard their health through online medical services, he said.

Syhavong agreed with Ma and spoke highly of health aid from China. He said Laos is willing to further health exchanges in many areas with China including human resources, hospital cooperation, traditional medicine and the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

With pragmatic cooperation people from the both sides will get benefits, added Syhavong.

List of Deliverables of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation

China hosted the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing on 25-27 April 2019. Since the first BRF and during the second one, national governments, local authorities and enterprises reached a series of cooperation agreements, important measures and practical results. As the host country, China has put together the most representative outcomes, and formed a list of deliverables of the second BRF. The list includes 283 concrete results in six categories, namely, initiatives proposed or launched by the Chinese side, bilateral and multilateral documents signed during or immediately before the second BRF, multilateral cooperation mechanisms under the BRF framework, investment projects and project lists, financing projects, and projects by local authorities and enterprises.

I. Initiatives Proposed or Launched by the Chinese Side

1. The Chinese side issued the Belt and Road Initiative: Progress, Contributions and Prospects.

2. The Organizing Committee of the 2nd BRF issued the Report on the Findings and Recommendations from the First Meeting of the Advisory Council of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

3. China, relevant countries and international organizations, as well as representatives of academic and business communities jointly launched the Beijing Initiative for the Clean Silk Road.

4. The Chinese government will implement facilitation arrangements for border entry and exit for the Belt and Road.

5. China develops Silk Road theme bonds to facilitate bond market financing by domestic and foreign entities in support of the Belt and Road Initiative.

6. The China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China continue with the Belt and Road Special Lending Scheme.

7. The Ministry of Science and Technology of China and science, technology and innovation related ministries of relevant countries jointly announced the Cooperation Initiative on Silk Road of Innovation.

8. The Chinese government will continue to implement the Green Silk Road Envoys Program, which will train 1,500 environmental officials from the participating countries of the Belt and Road Initiative in the next three years. The BRI Environmental Big Data Platform was launched officially. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China established the Belt and Road Environmental Technology Exchange and Transfer Center.

9. The National Development and Reform Commission of China launched the Belt and Road Green Lighting Initiative with the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and launched the Belt and Road Green Cooling Initiative with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the Energy Foundation.

10. The Ministry of Finance of China published the Debt Sustainability Framework for participating countries of the Belt and Road Initiative, to jointly enhance debt management capacity with participating countries of the BRI, and promote sustainable financing, and sustainable and inclusive growth.

11. China Customs established a Belt and Road customs information sharing platform and achieved certificate of origin electronic data networking with Chile, Pakistan, Singapore and Georgia.

12. The Standardization Administration of China initiated the establishment of a national standards information platform among the Belt and Road partner countries to strengthen the exchange and sharing of standards information.

13. The Chinese government continues to implement the “Silk Road” Chinese Government Scholarship Program and increases scholarships for candidates pursuing Master’s and PhD degrees at Chinese institutes of higher learning.

14. The Chinese Academy of Sciences launched the Belt and Road Master’s Degree Fellowship Program.

15. China will initiate the experience sharing program for Belt and Road partner countries, inviting 10,000 representatives to China from these countries in the next five years, including those from political parties, political organizations, think tanks and social organizations, as well as senior political figures and scholars.

16. The Ministry of Science and Technology of China announced the Belt and Road talents exchange program, supporting 5,000 talents from China and BRI partner countries in innovation exchange and cooperation in the next five years.

17. China and BRI partner countries will jointly implement the Belt and Road publications promotion library program and the Belt and Road copyright transaction project.

18. China and UNESCO initiated and set up the Silk Road Research Grant project to support young researchers and scholars.

19. The National Development and Reform Commission of China and the United Nations Children’s Fund jointly launched the Declaration on Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals for Children through Shared Development in the Belt and Road partner countries.

20. The Red Cross Society of China continues with the implementation of the China-Pakistan First Aid Corridor Program in Pakistan.

21. China will work with relevant countries to jointly implement the Belt and Road South-South Cooperation Initiative on Climate Change.

22. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China issued the first Belt and Road Bankers Roundtable Mechanism (BRBR) green bond, and jointly released the Belt and Road Green Finance Index with relevant members of the BRBR mechanism including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and the Mizuho Bank, to further enhance Belt and Road cooperation on green finance.

23. Hanban of China will carry out the “Chinese Bridge” Summer Camp for Youths in Belt and Road partner countries.

24. China will sponsor the first session of Belt and Road Legal Cooperation Research and Training Program, co-organize a seminar on business integrity and compliance with the World Bank, and hold an anti-corruption seminar for Belt and Road countries.

25. The Shanghai National Accounting Institute affiliated with the Ministry of Finance of China, together with the CAREC Institute, the Asian Development Bank and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, will jointly launch the China-Central Asia Accounting Elites Exchange Program.

26. China will hold the Second China International Import Expo in 2019, and hold the Global E-Commerce Forum during the Expo.

II. Bilateral and Multilateral Documents Signed during or Immediately before the Second BRF

1. The Chinese government signed MOUs on Belt and Road cooperation with the governments of Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Luxembourg, Jamaica, Peru, Italy, Barbados, Cyprus and Yemen.

2. The Chinese government signed cooperation plans or action plans with the governments of Serbia, Djibouti, Mongolia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea and the African Union, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

3. The Chinese government will sign the Cooperation Plan on Industrial Capacity and Investment with the government of Kazakhstan.

4. The Chinese government signed tax treaties and protocols with the governments of Kenya, Sweden and Chile.

5. The Chinese government signed transport cooperation documents with the governments of Pakistan, Liberia, Nepal, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia，Saudi Arabia，Laos and Kazakhstan.

6. The Chinese government signed cooperation agreements on science, technology and innovation with the governments of Laos, Bulgaria, Latvia, Salvador and Panama, and signed the Action Plan on China-Israel Innovation Cooperation with the government of Israel.

7. The Chinese government signed cultural exchange and cooperation agreements with the governments of Niger, Pakistan, Namibia, Nigeria, Mauritius and Guinea, and will sign cooperation documents on preventing theft, clandestine excavation and illicit import and export of cultural property with the governments of Nepal and Romania.

8. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China signed the MOU with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific on the Belt and Road Initiative for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

9. The National Development and Reform Commission of China signed the MOU on Establishing the China-Hungary Cooperation Center under the Framework of Bilateral Cooperation Plan of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, and signed the Bilateral Action Plan on Digital Silk Road Cooperation with the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary.

10. The National Development and Reform Commission of China signed the China-Laos Economic Corridor cooperation document with the Ministry of Plan and Investment of the Lao PDR, signed a cooperation plan on China-Myanmar Economic Corridor with the Ministry of Planning and Finance of Myanmar, and signed the Cooperation Plan on Promoting the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridors with the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs of Indonesia.

11. The National Development and Reform Commission of China signed the MOUs on developing third-party market cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs of Austria, the Federal Department of Finance and the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of the Swiss Confederation, and signed the MOU on the Implementation Framework for Enhancing China-Singapore Third Party Market Cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore.

12. The National Development and Reform Commission of China issued the Joint Statement on the Study of China-EU Railway-based Integrated Transport Channels with the European Commission.

13. The Belt and Road Initiative Center of the National Development and Reform Commission of China signed the 2020-2022 cooperation plan on key areas with the Ministry of Economy and Development of Greece.

14. The National Development and Reform Commission of China signed the MOU on Strengthening Cooperation on Jointly Building the Belt and Road Initiative with Siemens Aktiengesellschaft of Germany.

15. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, the Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation of Myanmar, the Ministry of Agricultural and Livestock Development of Nepal, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research of Pakistan, the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines，the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, the Ministry of Agriculture of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development of Viet Nam jointly released the Statement of Intent for Cooperation on Promoting Specification-setting for Pesticide Quality under the Belt and Road Initiative.

16. The seven national railways of China, Belarus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Poland and Russia signed the Rules of Procedures for the Joint Working Group for Transport of China-Europe Container Trains.

17. The Ministry of Transport of China signed the MOU on Cooperation for Promoting the Effective Implementation of Maritime Labor Convention, 2006 through the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative with the International Labor Organization. The State Post Bureau of China signed the MOUs on Strengthening Cooperation in the Postal and Express Delivery Services in Response to the Belt and Road Initiative with the National Post Company of Iran, the Ministry of National Development of Hungary and the Pakistan Post.

18. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China signed the MOU on the South-South Cooperation Under the Framework of the Belt and Road Initiative with the International Labor Organization.

19. The Ministry of Emergency Management of China signed the MOU on Developing South-South Cooperation on Work Safety under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative with the International Labor Organization.

20. The National Commission of Supervision of China signed the MOUs on anti-corruption cooperation with its counterparts of the Philippines and Thailand.

21. The People’s Bank of China and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development signed the MOU on strengthening investment and financing cooperation in third-party markets.

22. The Ministry of Commerce of China signed the Trilateral Cooperation Agreement on Renewable Energy in Ethiopia and Sri Lanka with the United Nations Development Programme, signed the MOU on the Establishment of the Working Group for the Promotion of Unimpeded Trade with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam, signed the MOU on the Establishment of Representative Offices of Trade Promotion Organizations in Each Other’s Country with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, and signed the MOU on the Establishment of Trade Remedy Cooperation Mechanism with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile.

23. The Ministry of Commerce of China signed the MOU on the Formulation of the Five-Year Development Plan for Economic and Trade Cooperation with the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of Myanmar, and signed the MOU on the Plan of Cooperation from 2019 to 2023 with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam.

24. The Ministry of Finance of China signed bilateral cooperation agreements on accounting and audit supervision with the Financial Service Agency and the Certified Public Accountants and Auditing Oversight Board of Japan, and the Securities Commission Malaysia, to strengthen cross-border accounting and audit regulatory cooperation.

25. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission signed the MOUs on supervisory cooperation with the Central Bank of Armenia, National Bank of Serbia, National Bank of Georgia, Astana Financial Services Authority (Kazakhstan), Bank of Mauritius and Labuan Financial Services Authority (Malaysia).

26. The Ministry of Science and Technology of China signed cooperation documents on science, technology and innovation with the Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology of Austria, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, the Secretariat of Energy of Mexico, the Agency for International Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, the Ministry of Business, Research and Religious Affairs of Greece, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of New Zealand, and signed cooperation documents on joint research center and joint lab with the Agency for Science and Technology of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Education and Culture of Uruguay, the Department of Science and Technology of South Africa, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space of Israel, the Council for Science and Technology of Malta and the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of Indonesia.

27. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China signed industry and information technology cooperation documents with the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary, the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications of Brazil, the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile and the Ministry of ICT and Innovation of Rwanda.

28. China Customs signed customs and inspection and quarantine cooperation documents with UNIDO and the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia，and signed relevant AEO mutual recognition cooperation documents with the Federal Customs Service of Russia, the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan, the State Customs Committee of Belarus and the Customs General Administration of Mongolia.

29. The National Energy Administration of China signed energy cooperation documents with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland and the Ministry of Energy of Bulgaria.

30. The China National Space Administration signed the Declaration of Intent to Cooperate on the Belt and Road Space Information Corridor with the United Nations represented by the Office for Outer Space Affairs.

31. The China Development Bank signed facility cooperation agreements respectively with the Ministry of Finance of Angola and the Ministry of Finance of Belarus.

32. The Export-Import Bank of China signed the MOU for the promotion of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through the Belt and Road Initiative for bridging the digital divide with the International Telecommunication Union.

33. The Export-Import Bank of China signed the agreements on third-party market cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative with the Mizuho Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank.

34. The Ministry of Water Resources of China, the Standardization Administration of China and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization signed the MOU for cooperation on promoting international standards for small hydroelectric power plants.

35. The Standardization Administration of China signed the Action Plan (2019-2021) on Technical Cooperation Program with the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization. The China-Russia Civil Aircraft Standards Coordination Working Group signed the Mutual Recognition Catalogue of China-Russia Civil Aircraft Standards. The Certification and Accreditation Administration of China signed a memorandum of agreement with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and Ente Nazionale Mechanizzazione Agricola.

36. The National Radio and Television of China and the Arab States Broadcasting Union signed the Framework Agreement for Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

37. The Development Research Center of the State Council of China jointly approved with 54 international members and partners of the Silk Road Think Tank Network the Three-Year Work Plan for the Silk Road Think Tank Network (2019-2021).

38. The China NGO Network for International Exchanges will launch the Silk Road Community Building Initiative, encouraging NGOs along the Belt and Road to establish 500 pairs of cooperation partnerships, and undertaking 200 livelihood cooperation projects in developing countries along the Belt and Road in the next two years.

39. The World Tourism Cities Federation and the West Africa Tourism Organization signed a cooperation framework agreement.

40. The Chinese side further developed the Maritime Silk Road Index by releasing the CHINA-CEEC Trade Index (CCTI) and Ningbo Port Index (NPI).

41. China and Russia piloted the “one-unit” financial settlement financing rules for international rail transport.

42. China, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation and Finance Center for South-South Cooperation set up the “Air Silk Road” South-South Partnership Alliance and signed a cooperation agreement.

III. Multilateral Cooperation Mechanisms under the BRF Framework

1. China, together with 33 representatives from government transportation and customs departments, key port enterprises, port authorities and terminal operators from 13 countries, including Egypt, Sri Lanka, UAE, Latvia, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, Fiji, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Romania and Singapore, jointly set up the Maritime Silk Road Port Cooperation Mechanism and released the Ningbo Initiative on the Maritime Silk Road Port Cooperation.

2. Major financial institutions of China, the UK, France, Singapore, Pakistan, the UAE, Hong Kong SAR and other countries and regions signed up to the Green Investment Principles for Belt and Road Development.

3. The Ministry of Finance of China in collaboration with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Corporación Andina de Fomento, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Bank Group established the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance.

4. The National Development and Reform Commission of China and the Union Nations Development Programme co-initiated the Belt and Road Innovation and Development Platform project, authorizing the China Development Bank to execute in name of the Innovation and Development Center under the project.

5. China and the accounting standards-setting bodies of Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia, Laos, Nepal, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Viet Nam jointly established the Belt and Road Accounting Standards Cooperation Mechanism and launched the Initiative on Promoting Accounting Standards Cooperation among Participating Countries of the BRI.

6. The State Taxation Administration of China, the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan, and the competent tax authorities of other related countries (regions) held the first conference of the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum (BRITACOF), signed the MOU on the Establishment of the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism, and established the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism (BRITACOM).

7. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China jointly launched the BRI International Green Development Coalition with the environmental departments of 25 countries (including Angola, Armenia, Cambodia, Cuba, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Guatemala, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Laos, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Niger, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Togo and United Arab Emirates), international organizations (including the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe), research institutions and businesses.

8. The China National Intellectual Property Administration and the intellectual property authorities of 49 BRI partner countries including the Federal Service for Intellectual Property of Russia, the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan, the Ministry of Science and Technology of Lao PDR, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, the Polish Patent Office, the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office, the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia and the Department of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, jointly announced the Joint Statement on Pragmatic Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property among Countries along the Belt and Road.

9. China established the Belt and Road Energy Partnership with 28 countries including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Kuwait, Laos, Malta, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Venezuela, Gambia, Cape Verde, the Republic of Congo, Mongolia, Suriname, Tonga, Cambodia, Chad, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan and Hungary.

10. The National Development and Reform Commission of China (China Center for Urban Development) jointly built the Belt and Road Sustainable Cities Alliance with the UN-Habitat, the WHO, UCLG-ASPAC, Eurocities and the Energy Foundation.

11. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China Chamber of International Commerce, together with the industrial and commercial organizations and legal service agencies from over 30 countries and regions including the European Union, Italy, Singapore, Russia, Belgium, Mexico, Malaysia, Poland, Bulgaria and Myanmar jointly established the International Commercial Dispute Prevention and Settlement Organization (ICDPASO).

12. The China Earthquake Administration, together with its counterparts from 13 countries and relevant international organizations including Armenia, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, the Asian Seismological Commission and the African Seismological Commission, jointly established the Working Mechanism for the Belt and Road Earthquake Risk Reduction Cooperation.

13. China Customs initiated a “Customs-Train Operators Partnership for Secure and Expedited Clearance of CR Express Carried Goods (C-TOP).

14. The China Development Bank established the Association of China-LAC Development Financial Institutions.

15. The Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and UNESCO co-organized the International Youth Forum on Creativity and Heritage along the Silk Roads, and released the Changsha Initiative.

16. The Chinese Academy of Sciences launched the Alliance of International Science Organizations in the Belt and Road Region with 37 national scientific institutions in the Belt and Road Region and international organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences of Belgium, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), the University of Chile, the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the University of Auckland, the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the University of Peradeniya of Sri Lanka, the National Science and Technology Development Agency of Thailand and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.

17. The National Museum of China and 157 museums or institutes from 33 countries and regions including Russia, the UK, Italy, Azerbaijan and Ethiopia, jointly established the International Alliance of Museums of the Silk Road (IAMS) and signed the Framework Agreement on IAMS Exhibition Cooperation.

18. The National Library of China and libraries from 26 countries and regions including Mongolia, Singapore, Brunei and Tajikistan, jointly established the Silk Road International Library Alliance and adopted the Chengdu Initiative of the Silk Road International Library Alliance.

19. The China Shanghai International Arts Festival and 159 arts festivals and institutions from 40 countries and regions including Croatia, Bulgaria, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, jointly set up the Network of Silk Road Arts Festivals and published the 2018 Future Plans of the Network of Silk Road Arts Festivals.

20. The China Arts and Entertainment Group and 106 theaters and cultural entities from 37 countries and regions including Russia, the EU, Japan and the Philippines, jointly set up the Silk Road International League of Theatres (SRILT) and adopted the Initiative on the Mutual Development of SRILT.

21. The National Art Museum of China and 21 art museums or major fine arts institutions from 18 countries including Russia, the Republic of Korea, Greece, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Viet Nam, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Hungary, Turkey, Moldova, Armenia and Poland, jointly founded the Silk Road International Alliance of Art Museums and Galleries.

22. Relevant Chinese think tanks jointly launched the Belt and Road Studies Network (BRSN) with Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University, Indonesia’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, Bulgaria’s National Association for the Belt and Road, the African Center for Economic Transformation, the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, the New Silk Road Institute of the Republic of Korea, Russia’s Valdai Discussion Club and Harvard’s Ash Center of the United States.

23. The Belt and Road Publishing Cooperation was co-founded by China and publishers, academic institutions and professional associations of relevant countries and regions. The Belt and Road Initiative Documentary Consortium was jointly founded by China and relevant countries. The Belt and Road News Network was jointly developed by the People’s Daily and media organizations from relevant countries. The International Communication Award on the Belt and Road was launched.

24. The Xinhua New Agency and 32 institutions including Polska Agencja Prasowa, Class Editori, the Interfax Group and the Azerbaijan State News Agency jointly established the Belt and Road Economic Information Partnership.

25. China and the United Nations Development Programme jointly carried out the BRI Sustainable Investment Facility Project and conducted pilot projects in such countries as Ethiopia.

26. The Chinese Academy of Sciences launched the Silk Road Environment Program, under which scientists from countries along the Belt and Road study the pathways and scientific solutions of green Silk Road development.

27. The China-IMF Capacity Development Center, a collaborative project by the People’s Bank of China and International Monetary Fund, reached consensus with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on jointly strengthening capacity building for the monetary authorities in Belt and Road partner countries, with the first joint training session held in mid-April at the IMF Joint Vienna Institute. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will provide training on economic policies for member institutions under the Belt and Road Regular Inter-bank Cooperation Mechanism, and the Bank of China will continue to organize Belt and Road international financial cooperation and exchange seminars.

IV. Investment Projects and Project Lists

1. The National Development and Reform Commission of China signed documents on priority projects lists of production capacity and investment cooperation respectively with relevant government departments of Kazakhstan, Egypt, Mozambique, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines, and signed the framework agreement of production capacity with the government of Uganda.

2. The National Development and Reform Commission of China signed the document on the projects list (3rd round) of developing third-party market cooperation with the Treasury of France.

3. The National Development and Reform Commission of China signed the document on the priority promotion projects list (2nd round) with the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Czech Republic.

4. The National Development and Reform Commission of China signed the document on the early harvest projects list of China-Myanmar Economic Corridor with the Ministry of Plan and Finance of Myanmar.

5. The National Development and Reform Commission of China signed the memorandum of cooperation on construction of the connection project of Nongkai-Vientiane railway with the Ministry of Transportation of Thailand and the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation of the Lao PDR.

6. The China Communications Construction Company signed the MOU on East-Coast Railway industrial park, infrastructure, logistic centers and development cooperation along the line with the Malaysian Investment Promotion Agency.

7. The China Railway Group Limited handed over the Feasibility Study Report (Technical Part) of the Muse-Mandalay Railway to the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Myanmar.

8. The Silk Road Fund of China established co-investment platforms with the International Company for Water and Power Projects of Saudi Arabia, the Three Gorges Corporation and the International Finance Corporation of China and the General Electric of the United States. The Silk Road Fund is establishing a co-investment platform with the Surbana Jurong Private Limited of Singapore.

9. The Silk Road Fund launched co-investment funds with the European Investment Fund and the Trail Capital respectively, and participated in the KKR Global Impact Fund, the Warburg Pincus Financial Sector Fund, and the African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3.

10. The Silk Road Fund invested in the DEWA Concentrated Solar Power Project, the Astana International Exchange and the Yamal LNG Project, and co-financed Oman’s National Fiber Optic Broadband Network Project with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The Silk Road Fund is investing in the Samarkand International Convention and Cultural Tourism Project and an Uzbek oil and gas project.

11. The China Investment Corporation co-launches with relevant countries and enterprises bilateral funds including the China-US Industrial Cooperation Fund, the China-Japan Industrial Cooperation Fund, the China-Italy Industrial Cooperation Fund and the China-France Industrial Cooperation Fund.

12. The China Everbright Group will co-launch the Belt and Road Initiative Green Investment Fund with financial institutions of relevant countries.

13. The China Investment Corporation invests in Logicor, Mid Europa Fund V, Changi AIP, the Russian part of the cross-border railway bridge over Heilongjiang River, Nam Dinh 1 BOT Thermal Power Plant Project and Vena Energy.

14. The China International Capital Corporation and the Moscow Exchange signed a memorandum on strategic cooperation and assisted Kazatomprom in completing its GDR listing on LSE.

15. The China Reinsurance (Group) Corporation and Fildelidade - Companhia De Seguros, S.A. will sign a memorandum of understanding on insurance and reinsurance business related to the BRI.

16. The China Development Bank and the Hareer City and Boubyan Island Development Agency of Kuwait signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Development and Construction Cooperation of the “Hareer City and Five Islands” between the Hareer City and Boubyan Island Development Agency of Kuwait and the China Development Bank.

17. The China Export&Credit Insurance Corporation signed the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement with the MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. and BNP Paribas.

V. Financing Projects

1. The China Development Bank signed loan agreements respectively with relevant institutions of Cambodia, Kazakhstan and Turkey for highway, mining and power projects, and entered into financing cooperation agreements respectively with the Belarus Bank, Banco Security of Chile and the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka.

2. The China-Africa Development Fund signed an agreement on automobile investment in Africa with relevant parties including Foton Motor.

3. The Export-Import Bank of China signed loan agreements on road projects with the Ministry of Finance of Serbia, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia and the KazAvtoZhol of Kazakhstan respectively, on bridge rail link and pipeline projects with the Ministry of Finance of Bangladesh, on photovoltaic and hydroelectric power plant projects with the Ministry of Finance of Argentina and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Guinea respectively, on steel plant project with the Ministry of Development Planning of Bolivia, on railway projects with the Ministry of Transport of Egypt and the Federal Ministry of Finance of Nigeria respectively, and signed working capital facility agreements with the AL Khalij Commercial Bank of Qatar and the Global Bank Corporation of Panama.

4. The Export-Import Bank of China provided syndicated loans to the MTN Nigeria Communications with the Credit Suisse AG, and to the Coral South FLNG Project in Mozambique together with the KEXIM, the SACE and the COFACE.

VI. Projects by Local Authorities and Enterprises

Local authorities and enterprises built the China-Serbia Friendship Industrial Park in Serbia; developed Industry and Sci-tech Cooperation Project of China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Zone; developed Cambodian Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone industry upgrade and social development cooperation program; invested in and constructed Zhongtai New Silk Road Tajikistan Agriculture Industrial Park in Tajikistan; implemented the PhaseⅡof Diamniadio Integrated Industrial Park in Senegal; upgraded and constructed the Project of Chan Mya Shwe Pyi Bus Terminal in Mandalay, Myanmar; invested in and constructed the Belt and Road Logistics and Trade Complex in the Unites Arab Emirates; acquired Tata Steel Southeast Asian Plants in Singapore and Thailand; undertook with Saudi Aramco the Fine Chemicals and Raw Materials Engineering Project in Panjin, Liaoning Province, China; built Tharcoal block-178MTPA open-pit coal mine & 2*660MW coal-based power plant integrate project in Pakistan; invested in and constructed the project of high-performance radial tires with an annual output of 13.62 million in Serbia; developed 1.5mtpa cement clinker project in Nepal; engaged in laterite nickel ore for battery-grade nickel chemical (nickel sulfate crystal with an annual output of 50,000 tons of nickel) production in Indonesia; constructed PTA/PET project in Saudi Arabia; developed a healthcare medical diagnostic integrated project in Kenya; and constructed China-Uzbekistan Medical Science and Technology Park in Uzbekistan.

A student gets a vision test before entering high school in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, in March.[Photo/China Daily]

Experts say stronger measures needed to prevent and control the condition

More than half the young children and teenagers in China are nearsighted, according to a survey by top government agencies, which called for intensified efforts to prevent and control the condition.

"Nearsightedness is a serious problem for children and teenagers in China, and we have an arduous task to control and prevent it," Zhang Yong, deputy chief for disease control and prevention at the National Health Commission, said at a news conference on Apr 29.

The survey, which was conducted last year, found that eight of 10 senior middle school students were nearsighted, compared with 71.6 percent in junior middle school, 36 percent in primary school and 14 percent of 6-year-olds in kindergarten. Overall, 53.6 percent were nearsighted.

Organized by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance and the commission, the survey covered 1.1 million students in 1,033 kindergartens and 3,810 primary and middle schools.

Zhang said several factors are associated with the high rate of nearsightedness in China's children and teenagers, including lack of outdoor physical activity, lack of adequate sleep due to heavy extracurricular work and excessive use of electronics products.

Ma Jun, deputy head of the Beijing Ophthalmology Institute, said the survey was the largest in recent years.

"We generally have an awareness of nearsightedness among young children and teen students of all age groups in China, which has provided a basis for taking targeted measures for control and prevention," he said.

Hu Ailian, a doctor from the institute specializing in eye diseases, said nearsightedness is incurable, so prevention is key.

"Nearsightedness has become more common among younger students, and has even spread to kindergartens," she said. "High-degree myopia may cause serious consequences such as blindness. Parents should improve their awareness on the importance of protecting their children from nearsightedness."

Zhang, from the National Health Commission, said the commission will cooperate with education authorities to pressure local governments to carry out measures for control and prevention of nearsightedness among students, and improve monitoring of nearsightedness, he said.

It will also focus on measures such as increasing outdoor physical activity for students and guiding them to use electronic products properly, Zhang said.

"Efforts are needed from all parties, including the government, schools, medical institutions and especially students and their parents," he said.

Since the hepatitis B vaccine for the newborn became popular in China, the carrier rate among children aged under five has dropped from 9.7 percent in 1992 to 0.3 percent in 2014, and the number of infected children has shrunk by close to 30 million, the China CDC said at an event about prophylactic vaccination for children earlier this week.

The vaccinated population under the national immunization program is on the rise. According to the China CDC in 2017, China had 157,100 vaccination units nationwide, covering all urban and rural areas.

There were around 420,000 vaccinators across the country and more than 400 million doses of vaccines within the program were used each year.

Gao Fu, director of the China CDC, said China's health authorities have been strengthening the sound and standard management on prophylactic vaccination and improving its security and effectiveness, hoping the public keep confidence in China's vaccine.

China has maintained an above 90 percent vaccination rate of vaccines under its immunization program.

Ma Xiaowei, head of the National Health Commission, said at a national conference on elderly affairs that the system that covers health education, disease prevention and fitness, disease treatment and rehabilitation, as well as daily care, long-term services and hospice care for the elderly in both urban and rural areas, will be improved.

The system needs to properly define the target groups and providers of such services as well as the contents of the services, Ma said.

The financial issue should also be considered, the official said.

As of the end of 2018, China has a population of 249 million aged 60 or above, and the number is expected to exceed 300 million in 2025, according to Ma.

Ma Xiaowei, head of the National Health Commission, said at a national conference on elderly affairs that the system that covers health education, disease prevention and fitness, disease treatment and rehabilitation, as well as daily care, long-term services and hospice care for the elderly in both urban and rural areas, will be improved.

The system needs to properly define the target groups and providers of such services as well as the contents of the services, Ma said.

The financial issue should also be considered, the official said.

As of the end of 2018, China has a population of 249 million aged 60 or above, and the number is expected to exceed 300 million in 2025, according to Ma.

President Xi Jinping and foreign dignitaries pose for a photo following the leaders' roundtable at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, April 27, 2019. [Photo/China Daily  by Feng Yongbin]

President says gathering sets stage for more Belt and Road progress, cooperation

More than $64 billion in deals were signed during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, President Xi Jinping told members of the media from home and abroad in Beijing after the three-day event concluded on Saturday.

In addition, Xi said, during the preparation and holding of the forum, parties reached 283 pragmatic outcomes, including intergovernmental cooperation agreements, cooperative projects and the launch of multilateral cooperation platforms.

The outcomes fully demonstrate that joint building of the Belt and Road conforms to the trend of the times, winning the hearts of the people, improving livelihoods and benefiting the whole world, he said.

The BRI originated in China but its opportunities and outcomes belong to the world, Xi said, adding that the second forum sends a clear message to the world: The BRI will have a brighter future as the circle of its supporters expands, as good partners increase and as the quality of cooperation improves.

Around 5,000 people from some 150 countries and about 90 international organizations attended the forum.

Participants hailed the BRI as a great initiative for economic cooperation, saying it is conducive to promoting connectivity and enhancing international cooperation in fields such as trade, investment and sustainable development.

President Xi Jinping addresses the opening of the leaders' roundtable, which he chaired on April 27, 2019. [Photo/China Daily by Wang Zhuangfei]

Calling Belt and Road construction a path to common prosperity, Xi said that early results from the BRI open up more space for global economic growth, build a platform for international cooperation and make new contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The forum helped countries upgrade their concepts of cooperation, defined key areas and strengthened the mechanism to seek high-quality development of the BRI, he said.

Leaders reached wide-ranging agreement on high-quality cooperation on the BRI at the leaders' roundtable on Saturday after an in-depth exchange of views on issues such as connectivity, policy integration and sustainable development.

They supported comprehensive infrastructure connectivity as a way to foster economic growth and to build high-quality, reliable, resilient and sustainable infrastructure, according to a joint communique issued after the roundtable.

All parties involved supported strengthening synergies in development policies using the principle of extensive consultations, joint contributions for shared benefits and building even closer partnerships, the joint communique said.

The leaders also upheld green and sustainable growth and agreed to enhance cooperation in areas such as environmental protection, circular economy and clean energy, according to the communique.

They maintained that Belt and Road construction will make positive contributions in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations.

The leaders also pledged to pursue trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, reject protectionism and unilateralism and uphold the rule-based multilateral system with the World Trade Organization at the center, according to the communique.

Xi told reporters that the consensus reached by the leaders has set the right course for the development of the BRI.

Our shared goal is that we work together to make the interconnectivity among various countries more efficient, foster more robust economic growth, develop even closer international cooperation and enable people to live a better life, he said.

Xi also said BRI cooperation projects will be market-based. To ensure sustainable development, the leaders agreed to promote a level playing field for business communities and create a nondiscriminatory business environment, he said.

Those involved in the BRI will strengthen synergy in development plans and initiatives of various countries and international organizations and intensify bilateral and the third-party market cooperation to help more countries raise their level of connectivity, Xi said.

He added that participants agreed that Belt and Road forums are an important platform for multilateral cooperation and should be held on a regular basis.

President Xi Jinping presides over the Leaders' Roundtable at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, April 27, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

China hopes to work together with other countries to build the Belt and Road with high quality to benefit all sides and achieve common development, President Xi Jinping said on April 27.

Xi made the remarks while presiding over the Leaders' Roundtable at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

Since the first Leaders' Roundtable two years ago, China and other participant countries have pushed forward the connection of policy, infrastructure, trade, finance, and people in all respects, Xi said, adding that these efforts have injected new impetus for global economic growth.

President Xi Jinping presides over the Leaders' Roundtable at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, April 27, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Through hosting the second forum, China expects to further implement Belt and Road projects and bring more positive outcomes for people of all countries, Xi said.

Xi called on countries to work toward shared growth through discussion and collaboration. The countries should uphold the concepts of openness and green and clean governance to strive for sustainable growth with high standards, Xi said.

A medical worker explains knowledge on vaccination to people at a maternal and child health care hospital in Handan city, North China's Hebei province, April 25, 2019. April 25 marks the children's vaccination day in China.[Photo/Xinhua]

A baby receives a vaccine at a maternal and child health care hospital in Handan city, North China's Hebei province, April 25, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

A child receives a vaccine at a community healthcare center in Qinhuangdao city, North China's Hebei province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Children try simulated vaccination at a kindergarten in Xingtai city, North China's Hebei province, April 25, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

A medical worker explains knowledge on vaccination to children at a health center in Dongguocun Township in Xingtai city, North China's Hebei province, April 25, 2019.[Photo/Xinhua]

A child receives a vaccine at a disease prevention and control center in Xinle city, North China's Hebei province. [Photo/Xinhua]

The launching ceremony of China's publicity week on the Law on Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases is held in Southeast China's Chongqing city on Apr 25.  [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Publicity and education should be basic measures to prevent and control occupational diseases, said Li Bin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC).

He said that at the launching ceremony of China's publicity week on the Law on the Prenvtion and Control of Occupational Diseases in Southeast China's Chongqing city on Apr 25.  

The ceremony showed the importance and progress of the prevention and control of occupational diseases and created a strong public response.

The publicity week should be a major measure to prevent, control and eradicate occupational diseases and protect workers' health, said Li.

That prevention and control involves China's 800 million laborers' health and is critical for their families as well as national reform and development, said Li, adding that it is a major task and part of achieving health for all and a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Li urges to fully implement the deployment of the State Council in this area and the concept of comprehensive health to promote work on occupational health. 

[Photo/301hospital.mil.cn]

Jian Dexiang, a 66-year-old farmer from Yangpu village, Zhaotong city, suffered from red eyes over the past eight years, and recently developed new symptoms such as itchy eyes and blurred vision.

He has however been reluctant to go to hospitals in the city due to his ailing legs and the long distance.

So on Monday when he heard volunteer doctors from big hospitals in Beijing were providing diagnoses at the village's health center, he joined the queue.

After waiting two hours Liu Xiaocui, a doctor from Beijing, received him, and after a checkup, Liu ruled out cataracts and gave him a bottle of eye drops.

"The doctor told me to use the drops and cover my eyes with a hot water-soaked towel four times each day," Jian said. "It is such as good opportunity to see so many doctors and I hope they can come again."

Liu, a doctor specializing in eye diseases at the Chinese PLA General Hospital, is one of the doctors organized by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association for the five-day program, which provided voluntary medical services for villagers in impoverished areas in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

"This is the first time I have taken part in such a kind of voluntary service, and I learned a lot," Liu said.

Liu was dismayed to find incidences of some eye diseases, such as cataracts, in Zhaotong are higher than northern areas, partly due to its tropical climate.

In addition, clinics in local villages and townships can suffer from serious shortages of medical staff and medicine, which has complicated the problem, she said.

Ling Feng, Chinese Medical Volunteer director, a group administered by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, said the group has been dedicated to improving health at grassroots level, especially in impoverished areas, to help alleviate poverty.

"It is disheartening to see people fall ill, and equally disheartening to see people fall back to poverty due to disease," she said. "We hope with our time and skills we can contribute to poverty relief for locals."

The group provided free diagnoses to nearly 1,500 people and training to 280 local villagers in Zhaotong in the program that ended Wednesday, according to the group.

Prior to the volunteer program in Zhaotong, Chinese Medical Volunteer provided similar services to other impoverished areas in China, such as villages and counties in Hebei and Jiangxi provinces, and other countries such as Guinea, according to the group.

[Photo/301hospital.mil.cn]

Jian Dexiang, a 66-year-old farmer from Yangpu village, Zhaotong city, suffered from red eyes over the past eight years, and recently developed new symptoms such as itchy eyes and blurred vision.

He has however been reluctant to go to hospitals in the city due to his ailing legs and the long distance.

So on Monday when he heard volunteer doctors from big hospitals in Beijing were providing diagnoses at the village's health center, he joined the queue.

After waiting two hours Liu Xiaocui, a doctor from Beijing, received him, and after a checkup, Liu ruled out cataracts and gave him a bottle of eye drops.

"The doctor told me to use the drops and cover my eyes with a hot water-soaked towel four times each day," Jian said. "It is such as good opportunity to see so many doctors and I hope they can come again."

Liu, a doctor specializing in eye diseases at the Chinese PLA General Hospital, is one of the doctors organized by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association for the five-day program, which provided voluntary medical services for villagers in impoverished areas in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

"This is the first time I have taken part in such a kind of voluntary service, and I learned a lot," Liu said.

Liu was dismayed to find incidences of some eye diseases, such as cataracts, in Zhaotong are higher than northern areas, partly due to its tropical climate.

In addition, clinics in local villages and townships can suffer from serious shortages of medical staff and medicine, which has complicated the problem, she said.

Ling Feng, Chinese Medical Volunteer director, a group administered by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, said the group has been dedicated to improving health at grassroots level, especially in impoverished areas, to help alleviate poverty.

"It is disheartening to see people fall ill, and equally disheartening to see people fall back to poverty due to disease," she said. "We hope with our time and skills we can contribute to poverty relief for locals."

The group provided free diagnoses to nearly 1,500 people and training to 280 local villagers in Zhaotong in the program that ended Wednesday, according to the group.

Prior to the volunteer program in Zhaotong, Chinese Medical Volunteer provided similar services to other impoverished areas in China, such as villages and counties in Hebei and Jiangxi provinces, and other countries such as Guinea, according to the group.

Local health authorities are urged to help expand the coverage of contracted family doctor services while at the same time guarantee service quality.

Family doctors should take into consideration the overall health conditions of patients with multiple chronic diseases to satisfy their needs for diagnosis and treatment in outpatient service, so as to improve service efficiency, according to the notice.

Family doctors as a team are urged to maintain close communication with residents they are serving in accordance with the contracts, and adjust health services to meet the needs of different people.

As China has entered the critical year of poverty alleviation, the circular also stresses on continuously offering medical services, such as evaluation, health management and helping patients to transfer to major hospitals, to impoverished patients with chronic diseases.

To reduce the inconvenience of patients with chronic diseases repeatedly commuting to and from medical institutions, family doctors are encouraged to give prescriptions that are valid for up to eight weeks, on the premise that it is safe, reasonable and effective.

The circular mandates that themed campaigns to boost contract signing and calling for more attention to contracted family doctor services are to be held around the upcoming World Family Doctor Day on May 19.

China will also accelerate the construction of the information system of contracted family doctor services, which can offer services like contract signing, consultation and making medical appointments, according to the circular.

Family doctors, including general practitioners registered with grassroots health institutions, qualified doctors at township clinics and village doctors, can provide comprehensive, continuous, timely and customized services, such as health consultation, evaluation and medication instructions for patients.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres departed from New York on Wednesday for Beijing to take part in the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

The Belt and Road Initiative is an important opportunity for reaching the United Nations' long-term development goals, he said.

With the huge investment in international cooperation, Guterres believes the BRI not only can have a stronger impact on the economies and societies of the countries that have benefited, but also contribute to the countries' development.

Aerial photo taken on April 1, 2019 shows the scenery of the Sunrise East Kempinski Hotel by Yanqi Lake in Beijing, capital of China. The second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is to be held on April 25-27 in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

Photo taken on April 15, 2019 shows the sunrise scenery of Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Aerial photo taken on April 3, 2019 shows the scenery of Yanqi Lake in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Panorama aerial photo taken on April 1, 2019 shows the scenery of Yanqi Lake in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Photo taken on April 1, 2019 shows the scenery of Yanqi Lake in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Stitched aerial photo taken on April 1, 2019 shows the scenery of Yanqi Lake in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Aerial photo taken on April 2, 2019 shows the scenery of Yanqi Lake International Convention & Exhibition Center in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Aerial photo taken on April 4, 2019 shows the scenery of Yanqi Lake International Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Valery Malashko, Belarusian health minister (right), and Yan Fei, UWEE president, pose for a photo after signing a memorandum of understanding in Beijing, April 24, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Belarus's health ministry and the Union of Western and Eastern Education (UWEE) signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing Wednesday to further enhance medical and healthcare cooperation between the two countries.

Valery Malashko, Belarusian health minister, said that 2019 is the Year of Education between China and Belarus, which is essential for the two countries' work developing international talent.

He said he hopes the agreement will deliver more higher education exchanges in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as promote the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Belarus.

Belarusian universities offer top-class medical education in Europe, especially in dentistry, according to the minister. He said he hopes Belarus will make more contributions to training international medical personnel in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative in future.

According to the memorandum, UWEE will help facilitate exchanges between Chinese and Belarusian universities, research institutes and pharmaceutical companies.

The two sides will also deepen cooperation in TCM, working together to train more local TCM talent.

Under the agreement's framework, a BRI-themed international medical forum will be held in the Belarusian capital of Minsk later this year, which is expected to gather scholars, experts and entrepreneurs in medicine and healthcare from around the world.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was initiated by China in 2013 with the aim of enhancing all-around connectivity through infrastructure construction, exploring new driving forces for world economic growth, and building a new platform for world economic cooperation.

The BRI has created a new dimension for the development of the world economy, and its long-term strategic plan is unusual, said President Ueli Maurer of the Swiss Confederation.

The Swiss president believed that globalization is the key to successful global development, and to achieve globalization, infrastructure construction at various levels would be indispensable.

In this sense, he said, the BRI is a future-oriented project that will contribute to globalization, in which everyone can benefit from improving and upgrading infrastructure.

For his part, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he had advocated the revival of the ancient Silk Road for a long time and believed the BRI will boost connectivity between China and Southeast Asia.

"In the promotion of relations between countries, the distance as well as the speed of travel is very important. With this scheme, I am quite sure more ships will be passing near Malaysia and Southeast Asian countries and therefore it will increase trade between Southeast Asia and China."

The 93-year-old prime minister will be joining other heads of state or government at the forum to discuss cooperation under the BRI, for which he has repeatedly expressed support.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon called the Belt and Road a multi-faceted "bridge" which can help unlock the transit potential of the landlocked Central Asian country and enable it to access worldwide markets.

"The BRI implies creating a new model of international cooperation by strengthening the existing mechanisms, as well as seeking and implementing new mechanisms, with the aim of stimulating the economic development of countries involved," Rahmon said.

Calling the BRI a "fantastic infrastructure project," Czech President Milos Zeman said, "I encourage Czech companies to participate in the construction of the new Silk Road, especially the railway construction. We have a good tradition in this area."

"My intention is to propose the Czech Republic as one of the possible countries for the communication with European countries. And the Czech Republic will not be omitted in the process," Zeman said.

Italy has become the first Group of Seven member to join the BRI, said Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Conte said Italy is glad to seize the historic opportunity to join the BRI, adding that he strongly believes that it will help fully explore the potential of Italy-China cooperation.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will host a seminar about green growth at the Belt and Road forum, said the BRI is a "very important opportunity" for the world.

With such a huge volume of investment for international cooperation brought about by the BRI, it is a "very important opportunity for enhancing the capacity to implement the sustainable development goals and an important opportunity to launch green perspectives in the years to come," Guterres said before leaving for Beijing.

President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on Apr 25. Here are the highlights.

China prohibits forced technology transfer
China will step up protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign owners of intellectual property rights, and prohibit the forced transfer of technology.

China will create a business environment in which the value of knowledge is respected.

China to support 5,000 people for BRI innovation exchanges

China will support 5,000 people from innovation sector in Belt and Road countries in conducting exchanges, training programs and joint researches in the next five years.

China will work with other participants of the Belt and Road Initiative to promote scientific and cultural exchanges, set up joint science labs, build science and technology parks, and promote transfer of technologies.

B&R opens up new space for global economic growth

Joint building of the Belt and Road has opened up new space for the world's economic growth.

Joint building of the Belt and Road has also created a new platform to boost international trade and investment, expanded new practices to optimize the global economic governance, and made new contributions to improving people's well-being of all countries.

China to allow foreign businesses in more sectors with controlling or full stake

China will allow foreign investors to operate businesses in more sectors with controlling or full stake. China will roll out a new batch of pilot free trade zones.

[Photo/VCG]

BEIJING -- China's National Health Commission has called for better public awareness of malaria prevention ahead of the 12th National Malaria Day, which falls on Apr 26.

The NHC, mainly targeting the prevention of imported malaria cases, advised outbound travelers to have a better knowledge of the malaria incidence of their destinations before departure and to consult doctors in a timely manner in case of suspected infection.

Medical workers should treat patients in accordance with industry protocol, according to the NHC.

Noting that malaria is preventable and curable, the NHC warned the public against mosquito bites and called for bans on blood donation from malaria patients.

China reported zero domestic malaria infections in 2017 and has vowed to eradicate the infection by 2020.

It is the fifth time for conducting such eye surgery, bringing the number of Myanmar patients treated by free cataract surgery under this program to over 1,000, Wan Lijun, chairman of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, told the event.

The free eye surgery program is one of the fruitful results of the bilateral cooperation in the previous projects like China-Myanmar economic corridor which was recently agreed to cooperate in practically pushing some major projects of the construction, Wang Zongying, Chinese Consulate-General in Mandalay, said.

He also vowed to continue further cooperation with Mandalay regional government for the development of the local people in the region.

Under the brightness journey program, a medical team from China's Kunming has conducted free cataract surgery in cooperation with local medical team at the Jivitadana Sangha hospital in Mandalay.

A doctor of the 19th China Medical Team in Rwanda examines a woman in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, on Dec. 3, 2018. The 19th China Medical Team in Rwanda on Monday provide employees of a China-aided government office project with free health care service and knowledge about preventing infectious diseases. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

KIGALI -- The 19th China Medical Team in Rwanda on Dec 3 provided employees of a China-aid government office project with free health care service and knowledge about preventing infectious diseases.

Rwandan Government Administration Office Complex, being constructed by China's Top International Engineering Corporation from 2016, consists of the Office of Prime Minister with eight floors and wing buildings of ministries and commissions. The complex building is able to accommodate 1,100 people to work.

All the 15 members of the medical team, including those working at Kibungo Hospital, some 80 kilometers southeast of Kigali, joined the activity at the construction site in the capital city, checking up and treating both Rwandan and Chinese employees.

The Chinese medical team hopes to meet the medical needs of the project employees, especially Rwandan employees who have poorer economic conditions, said Yang Wenhui, chief of the team.

Chinese medical team also wants to support Chinese enterprises doing aid projects overseas through the team's work, she told Xinhua.

The free treatment helps employees identify their health problems and solve their difficulties in health care, said project manager Zhu Zhen.

"It's a good action. You help us to know our health conditions, so that we can take care of ourselves," said Jacques Jean Ishimwe, a Rwandan working at the project.

A doctor of the 19th China Medical Team in Rwanda examines a man in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, on Dec. 3, 2018. The 19th China Medical Team in Rwanda on Monday provide employees of a China-aided government office project with free health care service and knowledge about preventing infectious diseases. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

A doctor of the 19th China Medical Team in Rwanda talks with a man in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, on Dec. 3, 2018. The 19th China Medical Team in Rwanda on Monday provide employees of a China-aided government office project with free health care service and knowledge about preventing infectious diseases. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

Chinese doctors conduct free cataract surgery for Sudanese patients at the Eye Hospital of Al-Nilain University in Khartoum, Sudan, Dec. 5, 2018. A Chinese medical team of eight members will conduct 250 free surgeries to Sudanese cataract patients at the Eye Hospital of Al-Nilain University in Khartoum, said Chinese Embassy in Sudan on Dec 5. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)

KHARTOUM -- A Chinese medical team of eight members will conduct 250 free surgeries to Sudanese cataract patients at the Eye Hospital of Al-Nilain University in Khartoum, said Chinese Embassy in Sudan on Dec 5.

The Chinese aid program to Sudan, known as "Brightness Action 2018," was co-launched by Khartoum State's Health Ministry and the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Sudan.

"We highly appreciate the deeply-rooted relationship between Sudan and China. We, at the Health Ministry, have greatly benefited from the cooperation with the Chinese Friendship Hospital, which provides a great work," said Mamoun Homeida, Khartoum state health minister, when addressing the launching ceremony.

Chinese doctors conduct free cataract surgery for a Sudanese patient at the Eye Hospital of Al-Nilain University in Khartoum, Sudan, Dec. 5, 2018. A Chinese medical team of eight members will conduct 250 free surgeries to Sudanese cataract patients at the Eye Hospital of Al-Nilain University in Khartoum, said Chinese Embassy in Sudan on Dec 5. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)

He noted that Sudan's efforts to reduce eye diseases have achieved positive results, saying that "the blindness rate in Sudan dropped from 500,000 cases to 200,000 cases, and by 2020 it will drop to less than 1,000 case."

Zhou Chunlin, representative of Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the China Embassy in Sudan, for his part, said that the program "comes as part of the cooperation between China and Sudan."

He added that there has been a standing cooperation between the two countries in the health field, pointing out that since 1970, the Chinese government has sent 34 missions of Chinese medical experts to work in Sudan.

The visit of the Chinese medical team comes as part of a short-term medical assistance program that China implements in less-developed countries, where the team has previously conducted cataract surgeries for citizens of Sierra Leone, Senegal and Chad.

Ambassador Wu Peng and Health Minister Dr. Alpha Wurie exchange signed documents  (Photo/Abu Bakarr Kargbo)

The Government of the People’s Republic of China recently donated medical supplies to Sierra Leone, officially handing them over at a ceremony held in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone. The event also marked the opening ceremony of a remote pathological diagnosis platform in the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital. The gesture was facilitated by the Health Commission of China, the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital and the 20th batch China (Hunan) Medical Team.

Medicine shortages and poor equipment have been key challenges for the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital, and have restricted its development for many years. Shortly after the hospital, along with Sierra Leone’s Health and Sanitation Ministry, put forward a request for support, the Chinese government got involved. The Chinese government decided to donate medicine and medical equipment on a yearly basis, intending to improve hospital conditions and provide the patients with comprehensive treatment.

The Chinese Ambassador talks with Sierra Leone’s Health Minister (Photo/Abu Bakarr Kargbo)

A remote pathological diagnosis platform for the Friendship Hospital was launched, to better support the hospital's development and treat patients, and marked another step in the development of primary healthcare.

The Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Wu Peng, said the platform would not only allow health experts to diagnose patients and treat them quickly, but also carry out early tumour screenings and allow for accurate diagnosis and the standardized treatment of patients. “I am proud of the contribution made by my colleagues from the Hunan Cancer Hospital, and I hope the China Medical Team will make full use of the platform together with local experts to improve hospital conditions,” he said.

Ambassador Wu called for continuous communication and collaboration to improve the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital. He further thanked the experts of the 20th batch Chinese Medical Team and their colleagues in the hospital for their excellent contribution to the people of Sierra Leone.

“We hope that the establishment of the remote consultation platform will allow for pathology and accurate diagnosis, and guide standardized treatment for Sierra Leonean patients, particularly cancer patients, which will in turn benefit the people of Sierra Leone," said Hu Jun, Vice President of Hunan Cancer Hospital.

Sierra Leone Government and Chinese Officials inspect new equipment (Photo/Abu Bakarr Kargbo)

Since 1973, Hunan province has sent a total of 282 experts in 20 batches to Sierra Leone to provide medical service.

Most recently, five pathological experts from Hunan Hospital were sent to Sierra Leone to install related equipment, provide professional guidance to medical staff and carry out test and diagnosis services, as well as make the final preparations for the official opening of the platform project.

Sierra Leone’s Health Minister, Dr. Alpha Tejan Wurie, described the Chinese Government and people as extraordinary in the building of a stronger relationship with Sierra Leone and supporting the country over the years. The Minister thanked China for showing that Sierra Leonean should have confidence in developing its health sector. 

The MEDinISRAEL conference held in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv gathered digital health leaders from around the globe, including China, to discuss the future of health technology.

Both Israel and China are seeking to achieve health technology breakthroughs in order to provide their peoples with a better quality of life in the future, which has motivated them to continue the efforts to boost medical cooperation.

"In the last three years, there is growing cooperation between Israel and China", said Hagai Dror, managing director of Health Care Israel at the Israeli Ministry of Health.

Israel and China have signed over the years a number of agreements, to combine the Israeli innovative technology and knowledge together with Chinese enormous market, which benefits both countries.

"Different Israeli entrepreneurs have opened education centers in China together with local Chinese partners," said Adiv Baruch, chairman of the Israeli Export Institute.

These centers aim to train nurses and doctors with latest health technology and medical skills, and offer additional service within the hospital system, according to Baruch.

One of the Israeli companies that provide international medical training and education to Chinese health professionals is International Medical Academy (IMA ), which aspires to bring Israeli standards of healthcare to Chinese professionals via knowledge transfer, collaboration, and cooperation with senior health experts and leading institutions.

"I am sure that bright future is ahead of us, and I could not wish for better partners than the best hospital managers from China," said Yaki Zinger, chairman of IMA and VP of businesses development in LR Group.

Moreover, there is an alliance between 40 Israeli hospitals and 20 Chinese hospitals, which exchange experience and knowledge, Dror noted.

Chinese representatives in digital healthcare and medical technology actively took part in the fifth MEDinISRAEL Conference, that is held from Monday till Thursday.

Initiated and hosted by the Israeli Export Institute, in cooperation with the Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MEDinISRAEL is the most significant event in Israeli health tech field.

This year's conference attracted health officials, senior representatives of hospitals, healthcare funds managers, academics, businesses, and representatives of global health technology companies.

The current conference focuses on topics such as telemedicine, hospital at home, medical internet of things, patient engagement, cybersecurity in healthcare and Virtual Realty and Augmented Realty applications.

Healthcare industry embraces the digital transformation occurring across the globe, perhaps more positively and rapidly than any other industry. Doctors, medical professionals, and healthcare facilities are using the new technology and big data to provide more effective, patient-oriented care and solve problems that were previously unmanageable.

Moshe Bar Siman Tov, director-general of Israeli Ministry of Health touted that Israel "is recognized worldwide as a leader in the medical technologies field."

Israel has produced already, more than 20 years ago, integrative information systems, which constitute today as an infrastructure for groundbreaking initiatives and research.

The systems are putting Israel at the forefront of global innovation by allowing the Ministry of Health to use the information generated to promote Israeli technologies, according to Tov.

"Over 99 percent of the population in Israel has digital medical records. Digital health is a national strategy, Israel has been rated as one of the best and most efficient health care systems in the world," he said.

Israeli health service organization Clalit holds the second largest medical database in the world, while its competitor Maccabi holds the third largest such database.

Israel has invested 1 billion new shekels (about 276 million U.S. dollars) in the implementation of a national digital health strategy.

There are around 500 digital health companies in Israel today, compared with only 150 just two years ago, in a sign showing the rapid growth of this field.

An ophthalmic medical team from South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region arrives in Kampong Cham province in Cambodia in March, 2019, to offer free cataract treatments. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Another team of Chinese medical personnel arrived in Kampong Cham province in Cambodia in March as part of a campaign against cataracts in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The new team, which includes two chief physicians, one deputy chief physician, one head nurse and two nurses from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, was the fourth of its kind.

A Chinese ophthalmic surgeon conducts an eye examination for a local patient in Cambodia in March, 2019. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

When the Kampong Cham provincial hospital published the news of Chinese doctors offering free cataract treatments, local patients and those from other provinces began arriving there for medical assistance.

Liang Hao, a professor from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University and a member of the team, conducted his first operation in Cambodia on a 36-year-old woman.

The woman, a single mother of five, began seeing from her left eye after the operation. She said will start working again after she’s fully recovered.

A Chinese ophthalmic surgeon performs cataract surgery on a local patient in Cambodia in March, 2019. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Liang said while the cataract operation is considered simple, it is not easy to carry it out successfully.

The professor said new ophthalmologic operation technology could be taught to Cambodian ophthalmologists to get timely diagnoses and treatments.

Ngel Wuth, an ophthalmologist from Preah Ket Mea Lea Hospital who studied at Guangxi Medical University, also participated in the medical service team. He speaks Chinese fluently.

A Chinese ophthalmic surgeon works with a local medical staff in Cambodia in March, 2019. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Ngel Wuth said Cambodia has high incidence of cataracts and other ophthalmic diseases, but the country has poor medical resources so many patients are unable to obtain medical help.

Chinese doctors have brought advanced medical technology and experiences which could help not only Cambodian patients but also doctors, he said.

Kimsour Phirum, the master of Kampong Cham Provincial Health Department, expressed his gratitude to Chinese doctor and Chinese people. He said more and more patients will benefit from the campaign of eliminating cataracts in countries along the routes.

The BRI "will furnish the people of all countries along the route with a safer, richer and more peaceful living environment," said Akkan Suver, chairman of Turkey's leading non-governmental organization (NGO) Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research Foundation.

Suver has been working to promote dialogue in the Eurasian region for quite some time. More than 20 years ago, Suver, then a Turkish journalist, left the newspaper business to join the NGO, as he felt a need to advance regional stability amid a rapidly-changing world.

Working in an NGO mainly composed of former government officials, former lawmakers, scholars and entrepreneurs, Suver founded the Eurasian Economic Summit in 1998, an annual international forum dedicated to creating dialogue, resolving regional disputes and promoting peace and development.

He said he found a lot in common between the projective of his forum and BRI's concept of peaceful cooperation, openness and inclusiveness.

"It (the BRI) connects the easternmost of Asia with the westernmost of Europe, boosts economies along the route, promotes cultural exchanges and integration," Suver said.

"The initiative is a project of peace...I truly believe that the Belt and Road project will be the road of stability, trade and interconnectivity," he said.

To better understand the BRI, Suver traveled to China over 10 times from 2014 to 2018. Returning home, he started to introduce the initiative to people around the world.

"The Belt and Road Initiative brings the world a new mechanism for dialogue," he said.

Indeed, on the 22nd Eurasian Economic Summit held in February, over 200 political and business leaders from 42 countries exchanged views on infrastructure, refugee settlement, climate change and other global issues under the Belt and Road theme.

"I believe if people in the region cannot understand and talk with each other, there will be no peace," Suver said.

Regional stability requires more than just peace in one country. It requires a network of communication and cooperation among countries, he said, adding that the BRI could bring regions and nations together for a common partnership from which all parties are to benefit.

The BRI is a future-oriented roadmap that will contribute to the prosperity of our children and grandchildren, Suver said.

Lantz old Xinhua that international cooperation and shared future, the theme of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation slated for April 25-27 in Beijing, seizes the imagination of the people around the world.

"A positive impact is the spreading optimism that you find among developing countries ... that their countries can be transformed by linking to the Belt and Road (Initiative)," he said.

Moreover, taking Italy as an example, Lantz said the country recognizes that helping Africa develop its economy is the best way to really solve the immigration crisis in Europe. Therefore, it would like to cooperate with China to jointly invest in third countries, in particular African countries.

Rejecting claims that the BRI is a debt trap for participating nations, the expert argued that the initiative helps unleash the potential of these countries.

"There is no debt trap. China is not engaged in investments with the idea of trapping countries in debt, but actually unleashing the potential of these nations," he said.

The BRI, proposed by China in 2013, aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. The initiative comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

"The world today is faced with major changes unseen in the past 100 years, and humankind faces many common challenges. At the same time, the rise of protectionism and unilateralism has placed global governance systems and multilateral mechanisms under attack. The world needs multilateralism more than ever before," said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

Countries should jointly uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, uphold the spirit of consultation, follow rules and procedures, and solve problems through collective efforts, he told a high-level plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly to commemorate and promote the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace.

Wu asked to uphold the vision of joint consultations, joint contribution and shared benefits when it comes to global governance. "We should address global challenges through multilateral cooperation and build a community of shared future for mankind."

He called for more dialogue and consultations. All parties should work together in seeking common ground while keeping differences with a view to increasing strategic mutual trust and building global partnerships, he said.

Wu asked countries to embrace the concept of common, integrated, cooperative, and sustainable security, and resolve disputes by peaceful means. The independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of countries should be respected and the representation and voice of the developing and small and medium-sized countries should be enhanced in international affairs, he said.

China's Belt and Road Initiative is an important contribution to multilateralism and international cooperation. It enriches the practice of multilateralism in the new situation, he said.

The second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is slated for April 25-27 in Beijing. "We believe that at this forum, all parties will speak with one voice to support multilateralism and the building of an open world economy," he said.

China has always defended the international order and practiced multilateralism, said Wu.

The United Nations represents the banner of multilateralism. China looks forward to the leadership of the world body in maintaining world peace, promoting common development, and deepening international cooperation, said Wu. "China resolutely defends the authority and status of the United Nations and supports it in playing an active role in international affairs."

The UN General Assembly in December 2018 designated April 24 as the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace. Wednesday's high-level meeting was the first ever commemoration by the General Assembly.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) speaks during a press briefing for the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) to be held from April 25 to 27 in Beijing, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced Apr 19.

Leaders including heads of state and government from 37 countries will attend the forum's roundtable summit, Wang told a press briefing.

Wang said 12 thematic forums and a CEO conference would be held on April 25, the opening ceremony and a high-level meeting on April 26, and the leaders' roundtable on April 27.

Xi will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech. He will also chair the leaders' roundtable and brief media from home and abroad about the outcomes after the roundtable, Wang said, adding that Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan will also hold a welcoming banquet for the leaders and representatives.

According to Wang, the 37 countries are Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brunei, Cambodia, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The secretary-general of the United Nations and the managing director of the International Monetary Fund will attend the forum, Wang said, adding that senior representatives of France, Germany, Britain, Spain, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the European Union will also participate.

Noting that the BRF is the top-level platform for international cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Wang said the conference next week would be of landmark significance.

The theme of the second BRF is "Belt and Road Cooperation, Shaping a Brighter Shared Future." Wang said the main purpose is to promote the high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation, which is the common aspiration of countries participating in the initiative.

Speaking highly of the fruitful results yielded since the initiative was launched in 2013, Wang said the second BRF was greatly welcomed worldwide with some 5,000 participants from more than 150 countries and 90 international organizations having confirmed their attendance, covering areas from five continents and different walks of life such as government, civil society, business and academia.

According to Wang, this year's forum will have 12 thematic forums, twice of that during the first forum in 2017, and the CEO conference will be held for the first time. A joint communique will be released after the leaders' roundtable and other consensus reached during the forum will be issued in a report.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, aims at enhancing all-around connectivity through infrastructure construction, exploring new driving force for the world economic growth, and building a new platform for world economic cooperation, according to Wang.

Stressing that Xi and leaders from other countries blueprinted the initiative in 2017, Wang said the progress in the past two years shows that the initiative conforms to the trend of the times featuring peace, development, cooperation and win-win and accords with the common aspiration of openness and joint development of all countries.

"As the host country, we will maintain close communication and coordination with all parties to prepare for the forum with openness, inclusiveness and transparency, upholding the principle of consultation and cooperation for shared benefits," Wang said.

He said the forum would voice the firm support for multilateralism and an open world economy, enrich the principles of cooperation of the Belt and Road Initiative, build a network of partnership, and establish more mechanisms for high-quality development.

Bilateral, trilateral and multilateral cooperation has been reinforcing each other under the initiative, laying a solid foundation for a closer and more wide-ranging partnership, he said.

Wang said China will showcase the outcomes and introduce the measures of its reform and opening-up to the world, adding that this will allow China to share the dividends of its economic growth, promote the Belt and Road Initiative, and bring more opportunities to the development of all countries as well as the building of the Belt and Road.

"I believe that the forum will inject stronger impetus into the world economy, open even broader horizon for the development of the countries, and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, " said Wang.

The document, prepared by the office of the leading group for promoting the BRI, was released ahead of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held from April 25 to 27 in Beijing.

The Belt and Road Initiative is an initiative for peaceful development and economic cooperation, rather than a geopolitical or military alliance, said the report. "It is a process of open, inclusive and common development, not an exclusionary bloc or a 'China club'."

"It neither differentiates between countries by ideology nor plays the zero-sum game. Countries are welcome to join the initiative if they so will," according to the report.

The BRI has turned ideas into actions and vision into reality, and itself into a public product widely welcomed by the international community, the report said.

Since 2013, the BRI, with policy coordination, connectivity of infrastructure, unimpeded trade, financial integration and closer people-to-people ties as its main goals, has advanced in solid steps, the report said.

"Significant progress has been made, including a number of landmark early results. Participating countries have obtained tangible benefits, and their appreciation of and participation in the initiative is growing," according to the report.

With a view to building a global community of shared future, the BRI upholds the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, the report said.

"Through the initiative China has made a constructive contribution to the reform of the current global governance system and to economic globalization," according to the report.

The report said China would face many problems and challenges in pursuing the BRI in the future as well as unprecedented opportunities and prospects for development.

"We believe that with the passing of time and the synergy of all parties, Belt and Road cooperation will definitely become deep and concrete, steady and extensive," the report said.

"The Belt and Road will become a road of peace, prosperity, opening up, green development, innovation, connected civilizations, and clean government. It will make economic globalization become more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all."

Full text of report on progress, contributions and prospects of the Belt and Road Initiative

Twelve sub-forums and a CEO conference will be held on April 25, the opening ceremony and a high-level meeting on April 26, and the leaders' roundtable on April 27. Heads of state and government from 37 countries will attend the forum's roundtable summit.

The BRF is a top-level platform for international cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The laws on medical doctors, approved by the top legislature in June 1998, lay out entry requirements, practice rules, and appraisal and training systems for Chinese medical practitioners, Ma said.

After being in place for more than two decades however, the law is in urgent need of revision as China's healthcare sector and medical product industry have improved, presenting new issues to be addressed, he said.

Medical professionals in China are typically concentrated in large hospitals in urban areas, while community clinics and medical institutions in rural regions draw from a much smaller personnel.

It's therefore imperative to develop the management and working systems for medical practitioners in China, according to Ma, who presented a report to the National People's Congress Standing Committee on April 21.

Ma said the commission will cooperate with the top legislature to amend clauses that are incompatible with current demands or contradict other regulations, and incorporate new items that have proved to be effective measures.

Core issues to be studied will include medical education, qualification and training of medical personnel, fostering rural doctors, and protecting the rights of doctors and patients.

A woman is inoculated with a cervical cancer vaccine in Zhengzhou, Henan province on Nov 14, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China's health authorities have urged the public to raise awareness of cancer signals their bodies send out in order to have the dangerous disease diagnosed and treated at an early stage.

Those who find themselves with abnormal lumps, continuous indigestion, and anorexia should go to the hospital in time, warned the National Health Commission (NHC) during the country's 25th National Anti-Cancer Week between April 15 and 21.

The NHC also listed several other dangerous signals of cancer, such as black moles rapidly becoming darker or bigger, ulcers that are hard to heel, and abnormalities with human excrement.

It is known that unhealthy lifestyles, such as smoking and drinking, an unbalanced diet, and psychological pressure, increase the risk of cancer.

In 2015, 3.93 million new cases of malignant tumors were reported in China, 2.34 million died from the disease, and annual medical expenses exceeded 220 billion yuan ($32.82 billion), NHC figures show.

According to the World Health Organization, one-third of cancers can be completely prevented, one-third can be completely cured through early diagnosis, and the remaining one-third can be better treated to prolong life, ease pain, and improve living quality.

[Photo/IC]

A total of 100 healthcare programs are expected to be unveiled at the upcoming Global Health Forum in Qingdao, Shandong province.

Organizers said Wednesday that these programs may help local health sectors find new avenues for growth.

"The programs, selected from around the world by Global Health Forum's organizing committee, have market potential and many of them have developed clinical stages," said Luo Xielong, executive director of the forum's organizing committee.

The Global Health Forum of the Boao Forum for Asia, themed Health Beyond Health, will be held from June 10-12.

Approved by the State Council and organized by the Boao Forum for Asia, the event will be the highest level healthcare event to date in China, with more than 1,000 participants set to take part.

These participants will include national leaders, senior officials from the World Health Organization, and ministers of state-level health authorities.

Luo said that China's healthcare market is huge, and enterprises have significant advantages in high-manufacturing abilities, funding, and support from government policies.

He said however that innovation needs to be increased.

According to Luo China's healthcare market was valued at 4 trillion yuan ($595 billion) in 2015, and that figure is expected to reach 8 and 16 trillion respectively in 2020 and 2030.

"Local enterprises and investors will have opportunities of face-to-face exchange with scientists and program owners during the three-day forum and there is great potential for win-win partnerships," Luo said Wednesday on the sidelines of an innovation project road show in Qingdao.

A warm-up event for the upcoming forum, the road show introduced more than 70 programs from the United States, Europe and Japan.

The event was held primarily for local enterprises and investors from Qingdao and surrounding areas.

The conference clarified the epidemic situation and deployed various resources to prevent and control epidemics in the two seasons. Over 1,800 health workers attended the conference.

In 2018 the national epidemic situation remained stable as health authorities at all levels fully implemented the prevention and control of various infectious diseases, Li said on the conference.

Li urged that nationwide health authorities pay close attention to the issue, implement instructions, and strengthen departmental cooperation under the leadership of the prevention and control authorities. The responsibilities of each local authority, institution and person need to be clarified and fully implemented, he said, adding that the epidemic prevention and control should adhere to goal and problem orientation as well as strengthening of management.

In addition, health authorities should continue to take epidemic monitoring, early warning, epidemic response, vaccination, health education and the prevention and control of infectious diseases in schools, said Li.

Assessment and guidance of the prevention and control work should be strengthened, according to Li, so as to ensure the quality of work and maintain good performance, said Li.

President Xi Jinping visits villagers in Huaxi on Apr 15 to learn about progress in poverty relief and solving prominent issues in the Shizhu Tujia autonomous county, Chongqing, during an inspection tour to the municipality. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping is paying great attention to poverty reduction work during his inspection tour of the mountainous Chongqing municipality.

Immediately after Xi got off his plane on Apr 15 he boarded a train and then traveled by road, heading to a primary school and a village in the Shizhu Tujia autonomous county, in a remote part of Southwest China.

To build a moderately prosperous society, it is crucial to raise rural living standards, Xi said while visiting the home of Ma Peiqing, an 85-year-old farmer in the village of Huaxi, Zhongyi township, who joined the Communist Party of China 45 years ago.

"Seeing that the people are guaranteed the basic necessities of food and clothing, as well as better and better access to education, medical care and safe housing, I feel relieved," Xi told the villagers.

Happiness is achieved through hard work, Xi said, adding that people in poverty-stricken regions should make full use of the Party's policies and work hard for a better life.

Xi also visited the home of Tan Dengzhou, a Huaxi farmer who was injured in a fall while working in March last year. Tan's wife, 74-year-old Jiao Guangrun, suffers from chronic ailments including asthma and rheumatism. The local government has categorized Tan's family as impoverished.

Xi asked about the details of the elderly couple's income and expenses, including how much of their medical costs were covered by the rural pension system and how much money they received from their children.

Tan and his wife spent 150,000 yuan ($22,370) on medicine last year, and they received 140,000 yuan of medical assistance from the local government. Taking the family's 11,000 yuan annual rural pension and other income from their farmlands into account, they saw a net income of 15,936 yuan last year.

Only when the Party's policy benefits the people will the policy be a good one, Xi said while talking with Tan.

China has set the goal of lifting all the country's rural impoverished people out of poverty by 2020, which will be the first time in thousands of years of Chinese history that extreme poverty will have been eliminated.

On Apr 15 afternoon, Xi visited Zhongyi's primary school and talked with the teachers and students. A teacher told Xi that she had graduated from the school and returned to it to become a teacher after graduating from college 17 years ago.

Xi told the teacher that her work is meaningful, and he said he hoped to see that more young people settle down in the financially struggling region and contribute to the development of the country's education.

[Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China's National Health Commission (NHC) will improve its mediation among different sectors to ensure sufficient supply of essential medicines, said a senior health official Apr 16.

The NHC will try to monitor the market more closely, increase the supply of bulk drug substance and regulate the pricing, said Zeng Yixin, vice minister of the NHC, at a press conference.

"Last year we saw the shortage of some medicines but only temporarily or regionally," Zeng said. "The shortage was mostly caused by the structural imbalance between the supply and demand, the monopoly of certain bulk drug substance or inefficient distribution."

The health department will play a better part in coordinating among pharmaceutical firms, drug stores, hospitals and other regulatory agencies, he said.

The government adopted a number of policies to ensure the supply of essential medicines in 2018. Pharmaceutical firms were required to report the medicines they no longer produced, while a state catalog for medicines in short supply was established.

Government regulators also stepped up the crackdown on malpractice in the pharmaceutical market. In January, two pharmaceutical firms were fined 12.43 million yuan (1.85 million US dollars) for monopolizing the supply of a bulk substance widely used in flu medicines.

[Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China's National Health Commission (NHC) will improve its mediation among different sectors to ensure sufficient supply of essential medicines, said a senior health official Apr 16.

The NHC will try to monitor the market more closely, increase the supply of bulk drug substance and regulate the pricing, said Zeng Yixin, vice minister of the NHC, at a press conference.

"Last year we saw the shortage of some medicines but only temporarily or regionally," Zeng said. "The shortage was mostly caused by the structural imbalance between the supply and demand, the monopoly of certain bulk drug substance or inefficient distribution."

The health department will play a better part in coordinating among pharmaceutical firms, drug stores, hospitals and other regulatory agencies, he said.

The government adopted a number of policies to ensure the supply of essential medicines in 2018. Pharmaceutical firms were required to report the medicines they no longer produced, while a state catalog for medicines in short supply was established.

Government regulators also stepped up the crackdown on malpractice in the pharmaceutical market. In January, two pharmaceutical firms were fined 12.43 million yuan (1.85 million US dollars) for monopolizing the supply of a bulk substance widely used in flu medicines.

[Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China's National Health Commission (NHC) will improve its mediation among different sectors to ensure sufficient supply of essential medicines, said a senior health official Apr 16.

The NHC will try to monitor the market more closely, increase the supply of bulk drug substance and regulate the pricing, said Zeng Yixin, vice minister of the NHC, at a press conference.

"Last year we saw the shortage of some medicines but only temporarily or regionally," Zeng said. "The shortage was mostly caused by the structural imbalance between the supply and demand, the monopoly of certain bulk drug substance or inefficient distribution."

The health department will play a better part in coordinating among pharmaceutical firms, drug stores, hospitals and other regulatory agencies, he said.

The government adopted a number of policies to ensure the supply of essential medicines in 2018. Pharmaceutical firms were required to report the medicines they no longer produced, while a state catalog for medicines in short supply was established.

Government regulators also stepped up the crackdown on malpractice in the pharmaceutical market. In January, two pharmaceutical firms were fined 12.43 million yuan (1.85 million US dollars) for monopolizing the supply of a bulk substance widely used in flu medicines.

Category A infectious diseases had no cases.

Category B infectious diseases, excluding severe acute respiratory syndrome, highly pathogenic avian influenza, H7N9 avian influenza, diphtheria, and poliomyelitis, had 298,910 cases with 1,756 deaths.

The five infectious diseases in category B with the largest number of cases were viral hepatitis, phthisis, syphilis, gonorrhea, and scarlatina. They accounted for 95 percent of all cases in category B.

Category C infectious diseases, excluding filariasis, had 844,664 cases with 145 deaths.

The first three Category C infectious diseases in terms of the number of cases were influenza, infectious diarrhea, and hand-foot-and-mouth disease, which accounted for 97 percent of all category C cases. 

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, inspects basic health work in the community health center in Qiaozi township, Huairou district, Beijing on Apr 8. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, inspected the grassroots health work in Beijing with his group on Apr 8, 2019.

The inspection group visited three health centers in Beijing's Huairou, Xicheng and Fengtai districts, talking with local health workers and asking the patients about the services of registered family doctors and local hospitals. They held a symposium to listen to the work report of the grassroots health institutions.

The Beijing government has strengthened the top-level design and taken health reform as a key, implementing a series of practical measures, including strengthening informatizaion of basic health centers, canceling the ceiling of medical insurance reimbursement to communities’ health centers and improving the proportion of merit-based pay of basic health workers, which have efficiently promoted the health institutions' capacities, said wang.

He urged the Beijing's health authorities to continue to strengthen coordination and communication, put people's health first and make development and reform go hand in hand.

The report delivered at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China points out that community-level healthcare services should be improved and the work of general practitioners strengthened.

The NHC launched a capacity building and training program for community level talents in 2018, and prepared to establish capacity building platform combining online and offline efforts.

Talent team building is the key component to enhancing community level healthcare services, said Wang Hesheng, NHC deputy director.

Wang said he hoped that community level healthcare workers across China could make the best of the platform, work hard to enhance their services and contribute to the Healthy China initiative.

The foreign-related health work in 2018 contributed to China's diplomacy and the country's overall health plan, and China has been active in the global health governance in the past year with fruitful results, Ma said at the meeting.

He urged that health authorities around the country should implement the decisions made on the national health work meeting, promote the construction of a Health Silk Road, deeply involve in the global health governance, and implement China-Africa health initiatives.

The health authorities nationwide should work to promote the cross-Straits health exchange, as well as exchange with Hong Kong and Macao, according to Ma.

In his speech, he stressed to strengthen the management of foreign affairs regarding health and cultivation of health talents capable of global health work, so as to serve the national and international health work and to promote the health work onto a higher stage in the new era.

The foreign health aid programs and related international cooperation arising from the Belt and Road Initiative were introduced by representatives from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the China International Development Cooperation Agency at the meeting. 

Researchers from Fuwai Hospital, under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, have built a 3D heart model with typical CT images of heart disease patients. They routed the 3D model to a head-mounted display through VR software developed by a Hangzhou company.

Users equipped with a headset and a motion controller will not only get a 360-degree view of the anatomic structure of a patient's heart but can also interact with some virtual features.

Last year, 18 doctors from the hospital participated in a 10-month VR training program.

"The VR images look more vivid than pictures on paper or on computers," said 33-year-old participant Zhong Zhaoji. "The system enabled me to observe all parts, experience virtual cutting, and even move around in the virtual heart."

Fan Hongguang, a cardiac surgeon and head of the training program, said that to have a clear understanding of a heart's structure and its relationship with other organs was not easy but very important to a surgery. Some deformities in severe congenital heart diseases often confuse new surgeons.

He believes the VR system can help young doctors master heart surgery faster.

Next, researchers and experts will further enhance the technology, enrich the training courses and establish a VR-assisted surgery platform.

Fuwai Hospital is China's leading hospital specializing in cardiovascular diseases, and performs over 10,000 surgeries every year.

Themed "Scientific Cancer Prevention," this year's publicity week aims to enhance public awareness and acceptance of cancer prevention, screening, early diagnosis and treatment to reduce social harm and disease burden, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).

In 2015, 3.93 million new cases of malignant tumors were reported in China, 2.34 million died from the disease, and annual medical expenses exceeded 220 billion yuan ($32.81 billion), NHC figures show.

Wang Ping, president of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, said early detection and standard treatment are key to effective treatment.

"Through proactive prevention and intervention, at least 30 percent of cancers are preventable and 30 percent of cancers can be detected at an early stage," he said.

Researchers from Fuwai Hospital, under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, have built a 3D heart model with typical CT images of heart disease patients. They routed the 3D model to a head-mounted display through VR software developed by a Hangzhou company.

Users equipped with a headset and a motion controller will not only get a 360-degree view of the anatomic structure of a patient's heart but can also interact with some virtual features.

Last year, 18 doctors from the hospital participated in a 10-month VR training program.

"The VR images look more vivid than pictures on paper or on computers," said 33-year-old participant Zhong Zhaoji. "The system enabled me to observe all parts, experience virtual cutting, and even move around in the virtual heart."

Fan Hongguang, a cardiac surgeon and head of the training program, said that to have a clear understanding of a heart's structure and its relationship with other organs was not easy but very important to a surgery. Some deformities in severe congenital heart diseases often confuse new surgeons.

He believes the VR system can help young doctors master heart surgery faster.

Next, researchers and experts will further enhance the technology, enrich the training courses and establish a VR-assisted surgery platform.

Fuwai Hospital is China's leading hospital specializing in cardiovascular diseases, and performs over 10,000 surgeries every year.

The association has 56 members, of whom 33 are medical personnel and 23 volunteers, according to Kelsang Dondrup, the legal person of the association.

It aims to assist health authorities in areas such as health awareness promotion, volunteer training and patient care and assistance.

Kelsang Dondrup said that the association would spread health knowledge among farmers and herders, migrant population, students and government officials, provide psychological counselling and life assistance to AIDS patients and orphans, and promote the use of condoms among high-risk groups and encourage them to conduct HIV testing.

"In recent years, the HIV/AIDS prevention and control system has been basically sound in Tibet," said Sogdoi, director with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Tibet.

"However, the increase in the migrant population has brought new challenges for our work. The association, as a social organization, can improve public awareness on HIV testing and promote the mass prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Tibet."

A nurse (L) checks the recovery process of a patient with cataract at a hospital in Xin Barag Youqi of Hulun Buir city, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, April 11, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

As part of the Bright Journey free cataract surgery program, 59 patients from Mongolia and 73 from China's Inner Mongolia have undergone free cataract surgery in Hulun Buir city from Apr 9 to 11.

A doctor checks the eyesight of a patient with cataract at a hospital in Xin Barag Youqi of Hulun Buir city, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, April 11, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

A doctor (L) cleans an eye of a patient who has undergone a cataract surgery at a hospital in Xin Barag Youqi of Hulun Buir city, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, April 11, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Doctors conduct a cataract surgery for a patient at a hospital in Xin Barag Youqi of Hulun Buir city, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, April 11, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Doctors conduct a cataract surgery for a patient at a hospital in Xin Barag Youqi of Hulun Buir city, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, April 11, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

A doctor provides checkups and information on Parkinson's disease in a rural community in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Shi Yucheng/For China Daily]

BEIJING -- Doctors Thursday called for immediate diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease when about 1.7 percent of Chinese people above 65 were overtaken by this disease.

Early diagnosis and intervention of doctors is very important for controlling Parkinson's disease, which is chronic progressive, said Chen Biao, chairman of the China Parkinson Alliance and chief of the Parkinson's Disease Research and Treatment Center of Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, at an event on the World Parkinson's Disease Day, which falls on Thursday.

China now has about 500 clinics for Parkinson's disease, where patients can receive interdisciplinary long-term treatment, Chen said.

"It is not the end of the world when a person is caught by this disease," said Chen Haibo, director of the Neurology Department of Beijing Hospital, at the same event. "With professional treatment and intervention patients can live a quality life."

The China Parkinson Alliance sponsored the National Parkinson's Disease Free Clinic Week, joined by 60 hospitals, to increase public awareness of the disease.

China has more than 3 million Parkinson's disease patients, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total in the world, according to the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders.

A doctor provides checkups and information on Parkinson's disease in a rural community in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Shi Yucheng/For China Daily]

BEIJING -- Doctors Thursday called for immediate diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease when about 1.7 percent of Chinese people above 65 were overtaken by this disease.

Early diagnosis and intervention of doctors is very important for controlling Parkinson's disease, which is chronic progressive, said Chen Biao, chairman of the China Parkinson Alliance and chief of the Parkinson's Disease Research and Treatment Center of Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, at an event on the World Parkinson's Disease Day, which falls on Thursday.

China now has about 500 clinics for Parkinson's disease, where patients can receive interdisciplinary long-term treatment, Chen said.

"It is not the end of the world when a person is caught by this disease," said Chen Haibo, director of the Neurology Department of Beijing Hospital, at the same event. "With professional treatment and intervention patients can live a quality life."

The China Parkinson Alliance sponsored the National Parkinson's Disease Free Clinic Week, joined by 60 hospitals, to increase public awareness of the disease.

China has more than 3 million Parkinson's disease patients, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total in the world, according to the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders.

Professor Wang Zhenyi visits a patient with a colleague at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai. [Provided to China Daily]

His dedication led him to discover a drug to cure an aggressive form of the cancer

Every Thursday, 95-year-old Wang Zhenyi hosts a discussion session with young doctors to find solutions for complicated medical cases. Wang, a pioneering expert in hemopathology and a tenured professor at Ruijin Hospital affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Medicine, has been doing this for 16 years in order to nurture more medical talent.

With over 70 years of experience in the hemopathology field, Wang was among the first academicians at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the recipient of the country's highest award in science and technology in 2010.

He is best known for saving the lives of patients suffering from acute promyelocytic leukemia, also known as M3. It is the most aggressive form of leukemia with the highest fatality rate. If not treated in time, 90 percent of patients die within six months, with some patients living not more than three days after diagnosis.

The first medical breakthrough in the field was made by Wang's team after eight years of research in 1986, when they made a drug to cure acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Wang recalled that chemotherapy was the main treatment for M3 practiced by doctors across the world years ago. However, the five-year survival rate after chemotherapy was only 10 to 15 percent.

During his research on M3 in 1978, Wang happened to read a research paper about Israeli experts successfully testing the cellular differentiation of leukemia cells into normal cells in mice-a process where a cell changes from one cell type to another under certain circumstances. This paper inspired Wang to research on the circumstances, in which leukemia cells can become normal.

Since then, he started research on the topic, and studying the induction and differentiation of leukemia cells.

The research hardly achieved any progress until 1983, when Wang was inspired by another research paper which mentioned that white blood cells of patients with M3 can turn into normal cells with 13-cis-retinoic acid.

However, no manufacturer in China could produce a drug with that ingredient, as it was really expensive to import 13-cis-retinoic acid.

Wang's team then decided to replace that ingredient with alltrans retinoic acid produced by the Shanghai No 6 Pharmaceutical Factory and later verified that it was capable of inducing M3 cells to differentiate into normal cells.

The research results were published in the world's top hematology journal Blood in 1988.

"The result finally gained international recognition since then," Wang said.

However, Wang has yet to apply for a patent for this discovery till this day, in a bid to make the medicine affordable to all patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia. A box of these small yellow pills used to cost 11 yuan 30 years ago. Currently, it costs 290 yuan ($43) and can be reimbursed via the national health insurance. The five-year survival rate of patients has also improved to over 97 percent.

A woman from the United States once wrote a letter to Wang to express her gratitude and also attached photos of her two newborns after recovering from the cancer.

The treatment was honored as a significant discovery in the medical field worldwide and it was also a great example of applying basic research results on the disease in clinical application, according to a comment made by international cancer experts on Wang's cancer research on the Shanghai Jiao Tong University website.

Born in Shanghai, Wang's pursuit of medical knowledge began when his grandmother died of typhoid fever when he was 7. "The underdeveloped medicine could not free her from disease, and that's when I decided to become a doctor to cure more people," Wang said.

He studied medicine at Aurora University (Shanghai) in 1942. After graduation in 1948, he worked in hemopathology at Guangci hospital, which is known as Ruijin Hospital today.

Wang has also served as a lecturer at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, teaching internal medicine, hematology and pathophysiology to 21 doctoral students and 34 postgraduate students.

Chen Guoqiang, chancellor of the medical school, was a student of Wang's when he was studying for his master's degree in hematology at Ruijin over 30 years ago.

He said it was his tutor's supervision and encouragement that fostered his career in medicine.

Wang's dedication to medicine even inspired his three sons, all of whom are working in the medical field. "I've been focusing on one disease-leukemia-all my life, but there are many other diseases that still require medical research by young practitioners," he said.

As the medical industry advances with economics and technology, Wang reinforces the critical value of medical ethics in the industry.

"One cannot be a real doctor if one does not possess expertise in medicine," Wang said. "However, without a kind heart, a skilled doctor may cause harm to patients."

[Photo/VCG]

Biotech requires quality controls beyond normal drugs, experts say

China plans to set a dozen quality-control standards for stem cell therapies to encourage innovation in the booming sector, medical researchers and health authorities said.

In February, the Chinese Society for Cell Biology issued a new set of standards explaining the basic qualities of human embryonic stem cells - which can develop into a variety of tissue types - laying out technical guidelines for quality control and the requirements for product use.

This is the second standard of its kind, following the introduction of the general requirements related to stem cells in late 2017, according to Zhou Qi, director of the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Zhou is also the head of CAS's Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, which is taking part in the drafting process.

"China's research into the stem cell sector has entered new terrain that has no proven methods," he said. "There are more than 10 standards under discussion or awaiting approval. We are aiming to promote a comprehensive quality-control framework that would help regulate the industry and expedite development of more products to meet clinical demand."

In recent years, as the potential of stem cell therapy has become evident to doctors and scientists, confusion about oversight of the industry has also grown.

Wu Zhaohui, head of the China Medicinal Biotechnology Association, said each stem cell is both alive and unique, and thus requires a different approach than what is used in the manufacture of conventional drugs. Stem cells add new pressure for quality control in mass production, Wu said.

In 2015, the National Health and Family Planning Commission and National Food and Drug Administration issued a set of rules to regulate stem cell research. They require researchers using stem cells to abide by the same guiding principles as other medical products.

"The rules have prompted us to think about how to enforce the Good Manufacturing Practice - the requirements for drugs - in the context of stem cell research and production," Wu said. "The newly released standards are part of our attempt to resolve the issue."

As more standards are expected to be rolled out in the near future, he said, they are likely to focus on the different types of tissues that stem cells develop into, in a bid to create a comprehensive structure for supervision.

Liu Guisheng, an official with the National Health Commission, said strong oversight is meant to stimulate innovation.

"So far, 35 clinical research projects using stem cells have been approved," he said. "Since specific regulations governing the manufacture of stem cell products are still in the pipeline, it's vital to work with prudence and patience."

Zhang Hui, an official with the National Medical Products Administration, said rules released in 2015 have played an important role in strengthening supervision and protecting the rights of trial participants, but they lack specifics that point the way to viable avenues upon completion of clinical research.

"For instance, the rules say that stem cell clinical research approved within the framework must not be directly applied in clinical treatment," he said. "Then the question is, Where will this research end up?" he said.

Zhang added that in other countries, 10 stem cell products have entered the market, with four more recently approved and more than 300 in the registration process. "But in terms of fundamental research, China has not lagged far behind other developed countries," he said.

The new standards - including the general requirements released in 2015 that centered on the safety, efficacy and stability of stem cell-based medical products - have helped, he said.

In China, 114 medical institutions, including 12 military hospitals, are allowed to conduct clinical research using stem cells, according to Wu Shuxia, a researcher on cell therapy policies at a medical sciences academy in Beijing.

She said that other than blood stem cells, which provide a scientifically proven treatment for blood disorders, including leukemia, the therapeutic mechanisms and risks of most stem cell products require further clarification.

"There are a slew of risks and issues associated with stem cell injections, and we still lack rigorous scientific evidence that can speak volumes about their reliability," she said.

She suggested that research institutions, pharmaceutical companies and governments join forces to provide and share more scientific results and other experience that would help enhance regulatory capabilities.

The average life expectancy is expected to rise from 78.53 years in 2015 to 79.88 years in 2020, and 81.88 years in 2030, according to the plan issued by the Xi'an municipal health commission Tuesday.

Xi'an, a famous ancient city, is home to the Terra-Cotta Warriors.

The plan aims to comprehensively improve the city's health levels through popularizing healthy lifestyles, building a healthy environment, optimizing health services, and developing the health industry in the city.

According to the plan, public sports and fitness facilities in Xi'an will basically cover urban and rural areas by 2020. A drinking water safety system will be established and food safety risk monitoring will cover the whole province by 2020.

By 2030, a high-quality and efficient medical service system and a safe and convenient health care service network will be built.

Full coverage of community home care facilities and day care centers for the elderly in urban areas will be realized and the total scale of the city's health service industry will reach or exceed 204 billion yuan (30 billion U.S. dollars) in 2030, according to the plan.

A nurse interacts with a girl from Afghanistan who has congenital heart disease at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Nov 6, 2018. [Photo/CHINA NEWS SERVICE]

URUMQI -- A total of 27 hospitals in Urumqi, capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, have established telehealth service cooperation with 24 hospitals in central Asian countries.

Xinjiang has been sharing telehealth services with the countries in recent years with the help of cloud computing, big data and the internet.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University launched such services, linking itself as well as some 50 hospitals across China with over ten medical institutions in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

"For every foreign patient who uses the telehealth service, we set up health document and do follow-up checks," said Tang Ling, who is responsible for the department of telehealth services at the hospital.

A number of hospitals in Xinjiang have established international service departments, staffed with medical personnel who can speak the languages of the neighboring countries to provide convenient services.

By the end of 2018, nearly 20,000 visits from patients in nearby countries have been made through such telehealth services.

[Photo/IC]

Institutions and individuals are prohibited from using overstatements and misleading words implying their myopia treatments could cure the eye disease, according to a notice released Wednesday.

The words such as "full recovery", "a cure for shortsightedness" and "to conquer myopia" could not be used in the advertisements, according to the notice calling for greater oversight of the industry of myopia prevention and treatment.

Myopia cannot be cured under current medical technology, according to the notice jointly issued by six ministries including the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Education and the State Administration for Market Regulation.

The notice also said that authorities would crack down on activities that deceive the public and damage their interests in the name of using Chinese medical technology to treat myopia.

Hu Ailian, vice-director of the Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology at Beijing Tongren Hospital, said that myopia can't be cured at the current stage but children and teenagers could prevent, control or slow its progression by using their eyes properly, increasing outdoor time, and avoiding looking at close objects for long time.

Once parents find their children have problems with eyesight, they should send them to ophthalmic medical institutions for examination, listen to doctors' suggestions and receive vision correction, Hu added.

In addition, the NHC also asked the health authorities of all levels to crack down on ophthalmic medical institutions without a legal license and strengthen inspection of ophthalmic products and medical instruments in the notice.

China has been paying attention to its population development, putting the people first and taking development of the entire society into consideration as it eases population-related problems, said Yu.

China's population development has entered into a new phase as the country's economy and society have developed in recent years. Family planning work, therefore, needs more efforts to improve people's health, provide better maternity services, promote family development and increase people's benefits, said Yu.

Bermejo affirmed China's achievements in population and family planning work and its new approach to the field's development when facing new situations. He said the IPPF is willing to share Chinese experience on the platform of the Belt and Road Initiative and South-South cooperation.

According to the National Health Commission (NHC), all public tertiary hospitals have participated in the building of medical partnerships. As a result, the flow of patients seeking medical care is reasonable.

More than 19 million two-way referrals from medical institutions across the country have been made. Among them, the number of patients transferred to higher-level hospitals decreased by 15 percent compared to last year and the number of patients transferred the other way increased by 83 percent, according to statistics from the NHC.

Also, 75 percent of medical institutions participating in medical partnerships have realized mutual recognition of examination results.

Telemedicine services, which cover all poverty-stricken counties throughout the country and extend to townships and villages, are now available in all tertiary hospitals in China, according to Ma Xiaowei, head of the NHC.

All prefecture-level cities and over 1,800 counties have also been covered by a telemedicine collaboration network.

As of the end of 2018, 62 percent of county-level hospitals reached the level of secondary hospitals and 22 percent of them reached the level of tertiary hospitals.

According to the NHC, China will pilot medical groups in 100 cities and medical partnerships in 500 counties in 2019, aiming to provide integrated diagnosis and treatment services for patients and improve grassroots medical services.

China has a three-tier system to grade hospitals, with tertiary hospitals -- which have the largest number of beds and provide comprehensive medical services -- at the top of the list.

Health departments will help schools and parents to conduct targeted intervention, said Ma Xiaowei, head of the National Health Commission, at a meeting between the commission and Ministry of Education.

Ma said priority would be given to young students, and health departments would assist schools in measures such as increasing outdoor activities, as well as reducing electronic device use and homework.

Health departments will also carry out a special monitoring program on the eyesight of school-age children and allocate more resources to the eyesight examinations, and counselling services, he said.

Education departments will supervise schools to take concrete measures and evaluate their performance, Minister of Education Chen Baosheng said at the meeting.

The action plan, with a theme of jointly advancing the "toilet revolution" campaign and promoting health and wellness, was jointly initiated by the National Health Commission and the office of the National Patriotic Health Campaign Commission.

The action plan is meant to raise people's awareness of public sanitation and help them cultivate a healthy lifestyle, it said.

Efforts should be made to improve infrastructure and enhance sanitation management, with a focus on environmental protection, according to the action plan.

An alarm system should be implemented in hospital restrooms for the convenience of the elderly while barrier-free facilities should be provided in hospital toilets for the pregnant and children, it added.

In the seventy years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the average life expectancy in China has increased from 35 years to 76.7 years, with main health indicators higher than medium-high income countries. China has not only guaranteed the health for one-fifth of the world's population but also provided valuable experience on healthcare to developing countries.

At an event to mark World Health Day organized by the National Health Commission on April 3, six groups of guests shared their own stories on protecting people's health in the country.

Rapid rise of West China Hospital

"As a doctor who studies, grows and works in West China Hospital, I have personally witnessed the social changes and reform," Li Weimin, director of West China Hospital, Sichuan University, said in reviewing his medical career. "The hospital's development in the past 70 years shows clearly it has thrived amid the country's prosperity and rise."

The precursors of West China Hospital, Cunren and Renji hospitals, were very small clinics when they were set up in 1892 by foreign Christian missionaries. In the 1990s, West China Hospital developed into a large public hospital, but still unresourceful, with no national key discipline, no national key laboratory and no academician.

Yet over the next 20 years, West China Hospital leveraged its advantage in abundant clinical resources to make great strides, becoming the first hospital in China to start an independent research institute. The hospital has now built a full-time research team and introduced a series of incentives to support research, with a priority on clinical innovation. In scientific indicators for clinical medicine development, the hospital has been ranked among the top 0.1 percent in the world and has independently developed more than 150 innovative drugs for major diseases and formed four advantages – resources, bases, teams and potential.

Since the 1990s, the number of outpatients and emergency services increased  more than four times and surgeries performed at the hospital surged nearly 18-fold. The hospital today boasts eight national-level medical platforms and is a diagnosis and treatment center for critical and serious cases in western China. It has also developed a unique medical treatment partnership system through cooperation with different types of institutions including general hospitals, specialized hospitals and communities. Thanks to the system, patients in western China are able to enjoy the same quality of medical services available as in China's well-developed areas, saving their troubles of traveling to Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou for treatment.

Big stride via big data

Li Zixiao is the director of the Quality Control Office of Nervous System Disease Treatment under the National Health Commission and also deputy director of the Vascular Neurology Department, Neurology Center, Beijing Tiantan Hospital.

He said he clearly remembers the suggestion of his supervisor Wang Yongjun ten years ago. "As a doctor and an expert, you can only receive forty or fifty patients a day. Or you can choose to work in medical quality control and research, promoting standardized diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases across the whole country, so that hundreds of thousands of patients and their families can benefit."

Designated by the Medical Administration Bureau of the former Ministry of Health in 2010, Beijing Tiantan Hospital established the "National Quality Control Center for Cerebrovascular Diseases Treatment." The first difficulty at that time was the lack of a national data platform, so quality control work was based on limited understanding of the problem, just like the story of the Blind Men and the Elephant. The breakthrough came in 2012 when a national data platform was launched to register information on cerebrovascular diseases in 209 hospitals. The number of hospitals included in the platform jumped from 500 to 1,000, then 2,500, and now has 2,774.

Massive data collected through the platform is analyzed by supercomputers capable of 375 trillion calculations per second (teraflops), producing a clear picture of the current situation, progress and problems in disease diagnosis and treatment. Analysis shows that the composite indexes on medical services for cerebrovascular disease improved from 63 percent in the 11th Five-Year Plan to 76 percent in the 12nd Five-Year Plan, but challenges remained in fields of intravenous thrombolysis and anticoagulation therapy for atrial fibrillation. To address those issues, the center has helped the National Health Commission formulate and improve indicators, which can lower the chance of one-year recurrence for patients with cerebrovascular diseases by 28 percent, cut the risk of disability by 26 percent and reduce the number of patients suffering from recurrence by 43,000 a year, which also saves 400 million yuan in medical costs.

Partnership innovation brings better service, greater trust

Lan Jianhua, assistant to director of the urologic surgery department at West China- Guang'an Hospital, has won Youth Innovation research funding provided by the Sichuan Provincial Health Commission and also published a paper in the Chinese Journal of Urology. Such achievements were still a rarity at Guang'an Hospital just a couple of years ago.  

But a change came in 2015 when Guang'an Hospital became part of West China Hospital amid efforts to develop a medical treatment partnership system. Experts from West China Hospital regularly visit Guang'an Hospital each month, always ready to share their expertise on a broad range of areas with local doctors, and provide insights on check-ups, medical imaging and communication skills with patients, as well as surgical methods, procedures and techniques in great detail.

At the end of the year, Lan received a patient who already underwent complicated transurethral surgery performed by Wang Kunjie at West China Hospital. The  follow-up checks, every two to three months after surgery, proved to be a big hassle, as the patient had to register one month in advance, arrive at West China Hospital a day before the scheduled date and stay in Chengdu City for a night before returning home. At the suggestion of Wang Kunjie, the patient went to see Lan directly with much ease. Every time, the patient made an appointment by phone one or two days previous, left home at 5 am in the morning and went back on the same day.

In the past few years, Lan's department has made progress in more than 10 new technologies and performed a growing number of surgeries. There were almost no operations in the whole afternoon in the past, but now the department was still busy with surgeries as late as 9 pm. Locals in Guang'an have benefited hugely from the partnership system because medical costs in the local hospital are much lower than large hospitals in cities like Chengdu and Chongqing while patients can have a larger portion of the cost reimbursed through medical insurance and they also have easier access to family support. As a result, the hospital has built up a better reputation among local people.

Making anti-cancer drugs affordable and effective

To Sun Piaoyang, chairman of Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine, a leading manufacturer of antineoplastic drugs, and also a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress, the mission of China's top pharmaceutical companies is to provide effective medicines that ordinary people can afford.

China reported 3.929 million new cases of malignant tumors and 2.338 million cancer-related deaths in 2015, with annual healthcare expenditures surpassing 220 billion yuan. With tens of millions of Chinese families affected by cancer, Premier Li Keqiang said in the Government Work Report this year that China will take action in cancer prevention and treatment, promote preventive screening, provide early diagnosis and treatment, and achieve breakthroughs in cancer research to ease this pain on people's lives.

Sun said the state is providing more and more support to pharmaceutical companies. The central government has invested nearly 20 billion yuan in a special program to develop innovative drugs and also driven investment of nearly 200 billion yuan from regional governments into the sector, resulting in the production of 38 new Class I drugs. China has also stepped up reform on evaluation and approval of new medicines, giving the go-ahead to 18 new anti-cancer drugs in 2018, among which five were developed in the country. The time needed to approve new drugs has been slashed by half. More anti-cancer drugs have reduced prices through negotiations between the administration and pharmaceutical companies and are included on the country's medical insurance reimbursement list. In 2018, 17 cancer drugs widely used in tumor treatment were included in China's national basic healthcare system, resulting in an average price cut of 56.7 percent. By the end of the year, a total of 44,600 patients benefited from the move, which led to a 75 percent drop in personal expenditures after reimbursement from the medical insurance fund.

Research and development of domestic generic drugs is also on a fast track. Take Gleevec as example: the drug, used to treat leukemia, is sold at 23,000 yuan a bottle in China, but the domestic generic version costs only one-tenth of that. Chinese patients can now pay much less as the drug has been added to the medical insurance reimbursement list, making this effective drug more affordable. In 2018, China reported 169 institutes undertaking cancer clinical trials, among which 88 percent were domestic projects, far more than foreign-funded companies.

Tibetan boy's new life after curing hydatid disease

Tibetan child Senglung Dondrup's story can help people better understand China's healthcare progress.

In July 2016, the 9-year-old child got sick when he was in Shiqu County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province for his summer vacation. He had a fever from 1 pm to 7 pm every day for more than 10 days, telling his mother that he felt very tired when playing with friends. His mother took him to the local hospital for examination but found it was not tuberculosis as she suspected. Then in Chengdu City, the boy was diagnosed as suffering badly from hydatid disease.

After seeing CT imaging, Professor Wang Wentao, deputy director of the hepatobiliary surgery department at West China Hospital, said the boy's liver was covered with four cystic masses and suffered damage to the central vein. Hydatid disease is a parasitic infestation, a serious threat to the health of people in grazing areas. The parasites, once inside the human body, would slowly enlarge fluid-filled cysts most commonly in the liver, causing serious liver damage and even death.

Sichuan has included hydatid disease of the liver in the program of centralized treatment of major diseases, which has greatly reduced the financial burden on poor patients in Shiqu County hit hard by the infestation.

The child's mother said "Professor Wang Wentao was very kind and gave detailed information about the condition. He also told us not to worry about the money, because the state attaches importance to this issue and has a centralized treatment policy for severe illnesses."

There are two standard ways to help the child, but each has its own shortcoming. Surgical removal of the cysts is the first method, but it means the boy would have a small segment of liver left and there’s a high chance of complications, which may lead to liver failure or death. The second way is through a liver transplant, which means the boy will have to take drugs for the rest of his life. Professor Wang adopted a third option after consultations with colleagues in the hospital’s department of radiology. A surgery removed a larger infected portion of the liver, let the remaining healthy tissue grow for three months to help restore normal function, and then the second surgical removal was performed. Both surgeries proved successful. Two years have passed, and the boy has fully recovered, going to school and living his life just like other healthy children.

Medical support as a way of poverty alleviation

In Yousheng Village, Hongmo Town, Mianning County of Sichuan Province, Wang Xuezhao is the fourth generation in his family to work as a doctor. He is known locally for the osteopathy skills handed down from his ancestors.

"My grandfather told me that my grand-grandfather mainly used a basket and a hoe to pick herbs on the mountains and then used a stone mortar and pestle to make medicine," said Wang.

Things have changed for the generation of Wang Xuezhao, who learned both TCM and Western medicine at Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. After graduation, he returned to his village and became a doctor with a university degree, rare at that time in his village. He continues the practice of osteopathy and is also responsible for the immunization program in the village. But it was not without difficulties at first. When he promoted knowledge of vaccines in a village of Yi people in 1999, a local elderly woman refused his visit to her house, saying her children were all healthy and her family did not believe in taking injections or medicine. Wang was chased out.

To change the obstinate villagers, Wang tried every means to publicize  immunization, including at meetings of village cadres and groups, family gatherings and banquets for weddings or funerals. Because he couldn't speak the local language, he asked his friends or village cadres to act as translators, or had his friend's child vaccinated in front of villagers. After years of effort, Wang has finally won the recognition and support of the villagers.

In 2017, Wang was elected by locals as deputy Party chief in the village and he has become even more eager to make a difference. For example, to let every poor family truly enjoy a healthcare policy as a way to alleviate poverty, he has collected the health information on all the families and made sure all villagers sign the agreement to have a family doctor. "I will live up to the trust of the villagers, fulfill my responsibilities and serve them well," said Wang.

A nurse changes a patient's dressing at her home in Henan province, on May 24, 2013. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China has made headway in promoting the initiative of Internet plus medical and health care, according to the national health authority.

An array of supporting policies have been introduced in areas such as online diagnosis and treatment, Internet hospitals and telemedical services, with 30 measures rolled out to benefit people under the initiative, the National Health Commission said in a statement.

Noting the progress in building a national platform for people's health information, the commission said 1,273 tertiary hospitals, the highest in China's three-tier hospital grading system, are able to share their medical service information with each other.

E-health cards, which offer access to personal health information and medical services through a QR code, have been piloted in 28 provincial-level regions, it added.

A specialized network for medical services spanning across the country and online platforms for cloud telemedical services have been established, which enables hospitals to provide telemedical services.

Wang Jianjun, executive deputy director of the National Office for the Elderly and president of the China Association for the Elderly, Wang Zhengrong, vice-chairman of the Sichuan Committee of the CPPCC, and Dr Gauden Galea, the WHO representative in China, attended the event and delivered keynote speeches.

Wang Jianjun pointed out that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, "everything for the health of the people" has been the goal of the Party and the government. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, especially since the National Health and Wellness Conference, China has placed people's health in a strategic position of priority development, and promoted "everyone enjoys good health and everything for health" together with WHO. China is willing to strengthen cooperation with WHO and other countries to make new and greater contributions to the health and well-being of all mankind.

The WHO has defined the theme of World Health Day 2019 as "Universal health coverage", and the NHC has defined the theme in China as "Safeguarding Health for All, Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects". 

The event invited six groups of guests to share their stories about universal health coverage, reflecting China's progress in medical levels, medical quality control, and research and development of new anti-cancer drugs. 

Rising registrations and better technology improve prospects of quicker availability

When Zhao Xueming, a middle school math teacher in Beijing, knew he had late-stage liver cancer in February last year, he felt despair.

"I was scared to the soul, and I thought about death every day," he said.

By then, Zhao, who was 36 at the time, had received various treatments at Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital for four months. However, he believed he had some other liver disease, since his parents, in order to avoid frightening him, never told him the truth.

"The treatments didn't work well," he said. "At last my doctor decided to have a liver transplant surgery for me to save my life."

Zhao was lucky. He waited for just around two weeks for an available organ, which was distributed through a national computerized organ sharing system, and had an operation that lasted for more than 10 hours in March last year.

He later learned that the organ donor was a young person who died in a car accident in Hubei province, more than 1,000 kilometers away, but he doesn't know further details.

In March, a year after the surgery, Zhao enrolled to become an organ donor at an organ-donation promotional event held at Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital.

"I am a beneficiary of organ donation, and know clearly what it feels like to be a patient in need of transplant surgery and eagerly waiting for an organ, since such organs are scarce," he said. "I want to do the same to save others."

With the number of registered organ donors increasing rapidly in China, it is expected that more patients with terminal illness in need of organ transplants will be fortunate, like Zhao, and not have to wait very long.

By the end of February, the number of registered organ donors in China exceeded 1.05 million, compared with 1,087 in 2010, the year China began to pilot organ donations, according to the China Organ Donation Administrative Center. More than 64,000 organs have been donated since then, the center added.

The turning point came in 2015, when China banned the use of organs harvested from executed prisoners, which made voluntary donations the only legitimate source of organs. Since then, the number of organ donations and the number of organ donors have continued to increase rapidly, according to data from health authorities.

In 2016, the number of newly registered organ donors exceeded 104,000 - more than three times the number for 2015, according to the center.

Last year, 6,302 people donated organs after death in China, an increase of 22 percent compared with 2017. About 20,200 transplant surgeries were completed last year, an increase of 21 percent compared with 2017, ranking the second in the world after the United States, according to the National Health Commission.

On average, 6.8 of every 1 million people donated organs after death or while alive for their relatives in China last year, a record high, according to the China National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee.

Guo Yanhong, deputy chief for medical administration and supervision at the National Health Commission, said that with an increasing number of organ transplant surgeries performed, Chinese physicians are also making progress in organ transplant technologies, and a number of world-class centers in transplant surgeries, covering major organs such as livers, kidneys, hearts and lungs, have been established in China.

With an increasing number of donations and surgeries performed every year, authorities have also established a computerized supervision system that covers the entire sector, including organ donation, retrieval, distribution and transplant, so they are under the supervision of health authorities, she said.

Despite the increase in the number of donors, a shortage of organs is still severe in China, considering the number of patients in need of transplant surgeries.

Every year about 300,000 patients with terminal diseases need transplants in China, but only about 20,000 surgeries can be done, according to Huang Jiefu, former-vice-minister of health and now chairman of the China National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee.

Chen Xinguo, director of the organ transplant center at Armed Police Force General Hospital, said that since people's traditional beliefs are still a major obstacle to organ donations, more education is required.

Zhao, the middle school teacher in Beijing, said that although he donated organs, many of his friends would not register as donors, since the traditional belief still exists that the body should be kept intact after death.

"I think more education and publicity should be made at colleges to promote the awareness of students, who accept the idea more easily," he said.

Chen, the transplant center director, said more efforts should be made to ensure the quality of harvested organs, especially those harvested at smaller hospitals or clinics.

"No doctor would dare to use substandard organs, since that may cost lives," he said. "We hope all organs distributed are equally up to standard."

Huang, chairman of the donation and transplantation committee, said there are 182 hospitals certified in organ transplant surgeries around the country.

Fan Jing, an official at the National Health Commission, said China will revise its regulation to improve oversight of organ donations and transplants to ensure safety and quality of services.

Speaking at a conference on organ donation and transplantation held in February in Wuhan, Hubei province, she said the revised rules will specify the legal responsibilities of various parties in the sector, including medical institutions, organ procurement organizations and medical staff. Violators of laws or regulations will more effectively be held accountable, she added.

Diwopu International Airport at the Urumqi State High-tech Industrial Zone in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

URUMQI -- China has set up pilot areas to provide air transport for critical patients and the severely wounded in places lacking medical resources, authorities said.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China and the National Health Commission have forged an action plan to transfer patients via flights. The "air ambulance service" with continuous first aid aims to enhance the survival rate.

"The action plan ushers in a professional stage for China's aeromedical service," said Ma Yan, head of the emergency center at the Urumqi Diwopu International Airport in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Last week, a 62-year-old patient with severe pneumonia complicated by high-risk hypertension and diabetes was transported for medical treatment by a jet ambulance from Urumqi to Beijing, more than 2,500 km away.

The aircraft, a Falcon 2000LX, is the country's first civil aircraft for professional medical relief which is fully equipped with portable ventilators, ECG monitors and automatic stretchers. It can land on highlands and short runways, and in hot areas.

Patients in critical conditions used to be transported by passenger flights, with 216 patients in Xinjiang transported by the civil aviation service in 2018, Ma said. However, it posed threats to the safety of patients and airplanes, as first-aid equipment was secured in the cabin with ropes, he added.

The country's air ambulance service includes 71 hospitals and pre-hospital medical institutions in 12 provinces and municipalities.

Local civil aviation and health departments are required to strengthen coordination and build a more established aeromedical service network.

The conference is the 13th meeting in China since it has been acting as the host country for the CCFA. The conference lasted for five days, focusing on review of the General Standards for Food Additives (GSFA), the International Number System (INS), the priority assessment food additives list by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), and the quality and specification of food additives. The conference also reviewed more than 400 regulations on international food additive use.

The meeting was hosted by the National Health Commission and organized by China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment. 

Li Bin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, Wang Zhonglin, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, and Sun Jiye, vice-governor of Shandong province, met with heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) on the opening day. 

Li Bin (6th L, front), vice-minister of the National Health Commission, poses a group photo with the conference's representatives. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

The 51st session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) opened in Jinan, East China's Shandong province, on Mar 25. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Ma and his inspection group went to four health centers in Feixian county in Linxi city, talking face to face with medical workers and residents in poverty. They also visited registered patients in poverty and held symposiums to learn about health poverty alleviation and deepening medical reform so as to make further plans to promote the province's health works.

He said that the province has taken practical measures to build a county-level medical institutions network and innovate working procedures on comprehensive inspection and management, ensuring the health of women and children and improving health literacy. 

The province's health authorities should continue the efforts and the right direction, giving county-level hospitals full play in health development and improving health service capabilities of remote areas and grassroots medical centers, according to Ma.

Ma said that an integrated medical services system and a hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system need to be established. The level of the basic health guarantee programs under health poverty alleviation should continue based on national standards, without adjusting them, to ensure residents in poverty can access medical services and to relieve the poverty caused by medical expenditures while continuing to increase health benefits for residents. 

Ma Xiaowei (R), minister of the National Health Commission, inspects a village health center in East China's Shandong province. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

The conference, with 13 member departments, will be led by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration, according to a notice released on Tuesday.

The new body is expected to enhance coordination among different departments and further improve vaccine management with clear responsibilities set out in a more efficient way.

The conference will coordinate the overall planning of the vaccine industry, as well as production and distribution, quality and safety, supply and storage, vaccination and financial compensation if safety issues arise, the notice said.

The conference was designed to accelerate technological innovation, process optimization and industry upgrading, while regularly analyzing vaccine safety, research on vaccine-related cases and disclosure of information in a timely way, the document said. The body should also make emergency plans in case of vaccine safety incidents and provide suggestions for improving vaccine work.

Zhang Mao, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and Ma Xiaowei, head of the National Health Commission, are coordinators for the new body.

In recent years, a number of scandals have hurt the credibility of China's vaccine industry. The National Medical Products Administration fined Changchun Changsheng Biological Technology Co 9.1 billion yuan ($1.35 billion) in October for making and selling hundreds of thousands of doses of rabies vaccine that did not meet national standards. Fifteen people were arrested.

Before that, an investigative report on the company was submitted to the State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Aug 16. The meeting decided to punish those who committed crimes while China would build a stringent system for medical product management nationwide and improve the whole-chain supervision and digital tracking system for vaccines.

Li Ling, a professor of medical reform at Peking University, said the new conference is vital to ensuring vaccine safety. "The quality of vaccines concerns every one of us and recent years have seen a number of incidents of unqualified vaccines," she said. "Therefore such a coordination mechanism is urgently needed."

The conference's 13 member departments cover almost all processes for vaccine production, distribution and vaccination, Li Ling said. The premier said in the Government Work Report on March 5 that a stricter management system for vaccines would be established. The interministry conference is the first step in achieving that goal, the professor said.

She suggested member departments use big data and other information technologies to strengthen their coordination and exchanges, which will help the new conference play a bigger role.

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC) leads an inspection group to Southwest China's Guizhou province from Mar 26 to 28. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC) led an inspection group to Southwest China's Guizhou province from Mar 26 to 28.

The group inspected the Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital and health centers in Guiding and Sandu counties of the province's Qiannan prefecture.

They also visited the local households in poverty and talked face to face with the local residents, grass-root medical workers and cadres of poverty alleviation to seek their advice.

Wang affirmed the progress the province has made in health poverty alleviation and deepening medical reform.

He urged Guizhou to improve county-level hospitals' capacities, establish integrated health mechanisms in counties and villages, form standards for village-level hospitals and tackle prominent problems of basic medical guarantees so as to support Guizhou in its fight against poverty.

Medical service is hard to access in Guizhou which should be a focus of attention, medical reform's procedures should be innovated, the field's distribution of resources needs further improvement and the health industry needs stricter comprehensive inspection and management, according to Wang.

Wang added that Guizhou province should be determined to take responsibility for the health sector and invest more resources in it to ensure implementation and performance of major tasks.

Wang held a symposium in the province's capital city Nanchang.

He affirmed the related works the province has made and said that Jiangxi should adopt an overall perspective, implement the Healthy China strategy and develop aging policies so as to ease the problem in a scientific and coordinated way without any delay.

The province should innovate concepts and use the idea of "big health" to synchronize the three tasks of deepening medical reforms, improving health poverty alleviation and healthy aging, said Wang, adding that  healthy aging needs to be promoted by integrating disease prevention, treatment and rehabilitation into a system.

Various provincial authorities on aging should take their responsibilities seriously and make coordinated efforts to combine medical and health care resources for the elderly,  according to Wang..

He urged the province to make a demonstration of in-home elder care in villages to meet its goals of healthy aging, formation of positive attitudes to aging and increased happiness in the elderly.

The theme was designed on the basis of the World Health Organization's theme for this year --- Universal health coverage.

The NHC encourages provincial and municipal health authorities across the country to launch campaigns publicizing World Health Day 2019. The publications should focus on the establishment of health services systems, improvement of health services, health poverty alleviation, guarantees of pharmaceutical supplies and health talent cultivation, according to the top health authority in China.

Essential points in the publicity are China's 70 years of progress in health matters since the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, and especially the successful and special practices that ensure the nation's universal health coverage, said the NHC.

The overseas medical aid teams are encouraged to actively take part in the local World Health Day 2019 campaigns and to exchange practices and ideas on health promotion as well as the results and impact of China's universal health coverage.

Doctors from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, offer free medical services in Pishan county of Hotan prefecture. [Photo provided to CHINA DAILY]

In a remote part of Xinjiang, a county hospital gets a professional makeover

In May last year, doctors told Awanisa Mahsut that she had a brain tumor.

After suffering a stroke, Awanisa, who lives in the southwestern part of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, planned to go to Urumqi, the regional capital, for treatment, but she changed her mind when she heard there was an expert from Urumqi working at a local hospital.

Akbar Yalkun, 45, a neurosurgeon with more than 20 years' experience in Urumqi, gave Awanisa hope. One of 13 medics assigned to Pishan county, he provides medical support as part of an assistance program initiated by his home hospital in May.

The program aims to improve management and medical treatment at the smaller hospital by drawing on the experience of a team of doctors and administrators on loan from Urumqi.

"The treatment level of neurosurgery was quite low before I came. Few doctors can perform this kind of operation here," Akbar said. "If there are related conditions, patients generally need to be transferred to hospitals in big cities."

Awanisa's home - Pishan county - is one of the most impoverished and remote areas in Xinjiang. It lacks well-trained doctors, and the hospital doesn't have enough money to buy modern equipment. As a result, patients often find it difficult to get the care they need.

The poor medical service often means that seriously ill patients would rather spend more money and travel farther to Hotan or Urumqi to see a doctor, rather than receive treatment locally.

"One of my relatives told me that Dr Akbar, one of the best neurosurgeons in the region, is at the hospital in our county," Awanisa said. "I was relieved, not only because he was there, but also my insurance covered most of the treatment at the local hospital."

The operation was successful. At a follow-up consultation on March 1, Akbar told Awanisa she had fully recovered. The operation would have cost her at least 40,000 yuan ($6,000) in Urumqi, but she spent less than 10,000 yuan in her hometown.

In March last year, after investigating the Pishan county hospital, Manglek Syit, vice-chairman of the autonomous region, ordered the hospital in Urumqi to improve the healthcare situation in Pishan county.

"Before we came here, it could not be called a modern hospital. You could hardly tell the difference between the outpatient and inpatient departments," said Yerzat Yerzhan, an administrative staff member of the team. "To provide an effective healthcare system, the hospital needed to change from its registration office up."

The regional health commission arranged for the hospital in Urumqi to launch a program giving all-around help to Pishan county. Bahtiyar Kerem, a specialist in critical care, was one of the first doctors to arrive.

"Our team members normally live and work in Urumqi, but after learning about the medical conditions here, we came without hesitation," he said.

Hu Yanmeng, the newly appointed director of the county hospital and head of the assistance team, said, "It is not enough to send medical experts. We need to comprehensively improve the hospital's medical services, so we also brought management personnel."

Among the 13 people on the team are a director, an accountant and specialists in the medical, nursing, outpatient and logistics departments. Seven administrative staff members and six doctors were dispatched to different departments.

"Seven administrators will be replaced by new members after a year. It's six months for doctors," Hu said.

At the same time, the two hospitals signed an agreement covering specialists in other fields of medicine, including gynecology, pathology and neurosurgery, which makes it possible for other specialists from Urumqi to visit local patients if needed.

To help attract medical talent to an underfunded hospital in a rural area, the team made a priority of retaining the original staff and improving their medical capabilities.

A review of the program said that after the team took over, the hospital reformed its performance appraisal system and gradually improved the salaries of doctors, nurses and administrative staff. The pay increases were significant.

"In addition to treating patients, doctors from Urumqi need to train local doctors to ensure the people in Pishan county will continue to get better medical care after they leave," Hu said.

Doctors from the team taught local doctors, and the county hospital invited other experts from Urumqi to give medical lectures every month.

"I have done more than 50 surgeries since I came," Akbar said. "In addition, I have trained two local doctors who I believe will be able to perform neurosurgical operations independently soon. More patients like Awanisa will benefit from it."

Medical facilities in other impoverished counties in China are also improving.

According to the National Health Commission, more than 60,000 medical workers from top hospitals were sent to hospitals in impoverished regions last year to improve their management and medical treatment.

Commission figures show that 963 top hospitals have teamed up with 1,180 hospitals in 834 impoverished counties since 2016, enabling them to provide better medical service to residents.

"Only a few patients came to the county hospital before, but after nearly a year of effort, the residents gradually regained their trust," Hu said. "I hope more patients in poverty-stricken counties can get access to better medical services at their local hospitals."

With toilets at grassroots medical institutions as the focus, the campaign aims to improve infrastructure, enhance long-term sanitation management and ensure up-to-standard cleaning of such sites, said the circular, jointly issued by the National Health Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Toilets at these sites must be cleaned and sterilized on a regular basis, the circular said, stressing that in times of intestinal infectious diseases epidemics, the sterilization work must be intensified, and the sewage disposal process should also follow special regulations.

It also demanded improved toilet infrastructure for the convenience of patients, especially the elderly, pregnant women and children, and encouraged the use of energy-conservation and emission-reduction facilities and materials in the toilets.

A series of guidelines covering breast cancer screening, early diagnosis and treatment and rational drug use to follow-up treatment and management of concomitant diseases were released Saturday at an ongoing cancer and health conference jointly held by the National Cancer Center (NCC), Cancer Foundation of China and Beijing Breast Disease Society.

Data released by the NCC in March 2018 showed that the mortality rate of breast cancer in China accounted for 16.5 percent of all cancers in females. As breast cancer continues to lay claim to top incidence rates both at home and abroad, its cure rate has been improving steadily in China, with the five-year survival rate reaching 83.2 percent between 2010 and 2014, up by 7.3 percent since 2000.

As survival time has been significantly prolonged, more patients have entered a chronic disease period, according to the guidelines for breast cancer follow-up and overall management of concomitant diseases, the first situation of its kind in China, by the NCC.

Common concomitant diseases of breast cancer include cardiovascular diseases, abnormal bone metabolism and depression. "Among elder patients, cardiovascular diseases have caused even more deaths than cancer itself," said Ma Fei, executive chairman of the conference and expert from the NCC.

Under the dual effects of ovarian dysfunction and drugs, postmenopausal patients suffer a distinct drop in estrogen levels, which often results in an abnormal lipid amount in the blood and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, Ma explained.

In addition, a large number of patients will continue to receive endocrine therapy for five to 10 years after cancer treatment, which is often accompanied by abnormal bone metabolism, osteoporosis and even fractures.

The guidelines clearly require doctors, through interdisciplinary collaborations, to take into consideration a patient's blood lipid level and bone density before giving endocrine therapy. It also suggests that doctors intervene to help patients quit smoking and drinking alcohol as well as avoid tumbles and serious body impacts according to the evaluation of their overall health conditions.

Xu Binghe, a professor at the NCC who has been focusing on breast cancer treatment for more than three decades, noted that the guidelines, by standardizing the follow-up visits and examinations, would bring the prevention of possible concomitant diseases earlier than before and extend health care to survivors over their entire lifetime.

"It will certainly assist the patients in returning to their family and society in a better state," Xu said.

Ma Fei regarded the guidelines as an important step to change the disease-centered diagnosis and treatment model into a patient-centered one. "The patients should not only live longer but also live well," he said.

China issued the blueprint for health care development "Healthy China 2030" in 2016, aiming to raise the whole five-year cancer survival rate by 15 percentage points by 2030.

As for breast cancer, the five-year survival rate varies a lot among different areas. The eastern coastal cities report a survival rate of 90 percent, roughly the same level as in developed Western countries, while the inland and rural area rates are lower at 70 to 80 percent.

Moreover, the incidence of breast cancer in China is still growing by 3 to 4 percent annually, which is higher than the global average.

"To further improve the cure rate of breast cancer in China, early diagnosis and treatment are very important. So far, no more than 20 percent of breast cancer cases are detected at an early stage, and less than 5 percent are found by screening," Ma said.

China has started to promote free breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings among rural women since 2009. But how to select among different screening techniques, especially when targeting different age groups, there are yet no unified standards. The lack of screening professionals has also resulted in high rates of false or missed diagnosis.

The NCC also released the guidelines for screening and early diagnosis and treatment at the conference, which defines the screening targets and methods as well as early diagnosis and treatment paths.

While European and American countries recommend mammography as the major screening method, these guidelines suggest the best option for Chinese patients is to combine mammography with ultrasound examination.

"We cannot just copy the international guidelines. For example, Western women usually have larger breasts with more fat, very suitable for mammography, but Chinese women often have smaller breasts with higher density, better for ultrasound equipment," Ma explained.

"Covering healthy people and paying particular attention to high-risk groups, the guidelines will help increase early detection of breast cancer," he said.

Category A infectious diseases had no cases.

Category B infectious diseases, excluding severe acute respiratory syndrome, highly pathogenic avian influenza, H7N9 avian influenza, diphtheria, and poliomyelitis, had 243,083 cases with 1,486 deaths.

The five infectious diseases in category B with the largest number of cases were viral hepatitis, phthisis, syphilis, gonorrhea, and bacillary and amoebic dysentery. They accounted for 95 percent of all cases in category B.

Category C infectious diseases, excluding filariasis, had 472,093 cases with 92 deaths.

The first three Category C infectious diseases in terms of the number of cases were influenza, infectious diarrhea, and hand-foot-and-mouth disease, which accounted for 97 percent of all category C cases. 

The hospital organized health and medical experts to go to communities and rural areas, publicizing health knowledge, conducting health education, and providing free medical consultations, diagnosis, and treatment. 

Doctors of Linxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital give medical consultations to rural residents. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

A doctor of Linxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital checks a villager’s eyes. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

The clinics provided by Linxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital are free of charge. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

A doctor of Linxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital helps an old man walk during the clinic campaign. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

Rural residents benefit for free from the attention of the doctors of Linxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

Zeng Yixin(2nd R), vice-minister of the National Health Commission, make an inspection tour of South China's Hainan province from Mar 20 to 23. [Photo/en.nhc.gov.cn]

Zeng Yixin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC), made an inspection tour of South China's Hainan province from Mar 20 to 23.

Zeng and his group visited county-and village-level health institutions in the province's Baoqing county and Wuzhishan city as well as impoverished households. They talked with the medical workers face to face to learn about their daily work and salaries in the basic health institutions, and the families in poverty to ask their advice on health poverty alleviation.

Zeng's group opened two symposiums, planning further steps in Hainan's health poverty alleviation and deepening of reform.

Zeng affirmed the achievements Hainan province has made in the above two fields, adding that the province should coordinate the two tasks, accept and implement the suggestions proposed by the central inspection team of poverty relief, and be determined to end poverty.

Rural medical workers, the nearest protectors of villagers' health, aren't alternatives to a good solution; they are paramount to health poverty alleviation, said Zeng. He urged that good health resources of the country need to be channeled to the grassroots and heath institutions to make sure that rural residents enjoy high quality health services and grassroots medical workers receive good salaries.

All levels of the governments of Hainan should use their advantages and innovate health service modes so that the province's health development will meet national standards as well as boast its own characteristics.

Yu appraised the practical cooperation between NHC and UNFPA and congratulated UNFPA on its 50th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the opening of the International Conference on Population and Development.

He said that China pays attention to population development and hopes to continue exchanges on population policies and cooperation on talents cultivation and other programs with UNFPA to commonly combat the emerging problems of population development.

Ahonsi expressed his gratitude to NHC for its support of the UNFPA’s programs conducted in China. He spoke highly of China’s taking population data into consideration when setting policies or making decisions to develop its national economy and society. Ahonsi said the fund is willing to keep providing advice for improving Chinese population policies and hopes to be engaged in South-South cooperation to enhance exchanges and learning among other developing countries.