Increasing numbers of people are moving to cities with their entire families as they plan to live there for a long time. They often have children there, albeit sometimes unexpectedly or out of wedlock, which makes it more difficult for local governments to provide them good healthcare services.

Huge achievements have been made in managing issues related to the migrant population over the years, most notably a sound legal system, Wang noted, adding that migrants have enjoyed more equitable public services of late and integrated more fully into local society. Services and facilities have also become more convenient for them.

But more needs to be done to seize this new window of opportunities in order to eradicate the challenges urbanization can bring, he said.

Wang urged everyone to follow the guidelines made during the 18th National People’s Congress and the third plenum of the 18th Central Committee. He also encouraged those in attendance to make continued efforts toward national health and family planning management, improve basic public services, closely monitor the migrant population, safeguard the legal rights of migrants and take advantage of information technology in doing so.

According to plan, he said, the Commission will lead efforts to improve health and family planning services for migrants in the following aspects:

First, the Commission will set up a more unified and coordinated system. Provincial unification and cross-provincial coordination are required to enhance the national network of health and family planning services. By the end of the twelfth Five-Year Plan, 90 percent of the migrant population in concentrated areas will be registered in a digital database and covered by basic public services. Meanwhile, marriage certificates will be digitized for the nation’s entire migrant population.

Second, the Commission will boost the equity of basic public services for migrant population. In a combined effort with other departments including the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Finance Ministry, guidelines to push forward equitable services for migrants will soon be rolled out and put into practice in 40 pilot cities. This has become a top priority on the country’s reform agenda.

Third, the Commission will establish a mechanism to better monitor and assess health and family planning work while updating a migrant-population database with complete statistics. Meanwhile, complaints from migrants will be deeply investigated and prudently analyzed in an effort to come up with effective solutions. This information database will offer a clearer picture of the migrant population for local governments and will be an important reference for political decisions.