Health and family planning work improvements in 2014

(en.nhfpc.gov.cn)

Updated: 2015-01-20

Family planning work continued to be strengthened

The separate two-child policy was smoothly implemented. Health and family planning administrations have earnestly carried out the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Adjusting and Improving Family Planning Policies and decisions and deployments of the national family planning work video and telephone conference. Guiding opinions on strengthening family planning work at the community level were issued, and the family planning network and team were stabilized and enhanced. All areas have publicized related interpretations and policies. At the moment, the separate two-child policy has been carried out nationwide, and nearly 1 million eligible couples have applied to give birth to a second child. At the same time, sex ratio at birth management and family development work have made new achievements. Caring work has been conducted to help families following the family planning policy and facing special difficulties. Migrant population service management was improved steadily. Electronic marriage certification reform kicked off in 11 provinces (municipalities), and 15 cities launched social integration demonstration pilot projects.

Public health and medical service abilities improved

First, health emergency work against major outbreaks, such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, has made great strides. General Secretary Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have made important instructions many times since Ebola broke out in West Africa. Vice-Premier Liu Yandong has studied deployments. Joint defense and control mechanisms were fully utilized to push ahead domestic prevention work to help Africa fight the epidemic. Strict precautions were taken to keep China safe from Ebola, while assistance worth 750 million yuan was given to West African countries in four rounds. In addition, more than 600 medical personnel and public health experts from China were sent to fight Ebola in West Africa. Significant achievements were made in virus detection, patient observation and treatment, and public health and epidemic prevention training at mobile labs in Sierra Leone and diagnosis and treatment centers in Liberia. On New Year's Eve, Xi Jinping sent a letter of consolation to all medical workers who helped fight Ebola in West Africa. Medical personnel were deeply inspired.

Second, public health and major disease prevention and control work continued to be boosted. HIV/AIDS comprehensive prevention and the control demonstration area have covered nearly 300 million people. Schistosoma epidemics were brought to historic lows. The planned immunity vaccination rate among children nationwide stayed above 90 percent. A total of 265 comprehensive chronic disease prevention and control demonstration areas were established. The State Council issued the Opinions on Strengthening Patriotic Health Work in the New Period. The rural sanitary toilet popularization rate reached 74 percent. The food safety standard system and risk monitoring network continued to improve. Integration of 215 national food safety standards was finished, and a total of 68 new national food safety standards were issued.

Third, medical service ability and quality were upgraded. A total of 1,640 tertiary hospitals nationwide established assistance relations with 3,758 county-level hospitals. A total of 26,000 backbone doctors at county-level hospitals received training given by superior hospitals, and a total of 560,000 rural health workers received training. A total of 3,644 health institutes in villages and towns got assistance. Medical quality and technology management work was strengthened, and the antimicrobial drug use rate dropped by 2.4 percentage points among hospitalized patients nationwide.

Fourth, maternal and child health service capacity was strengthened. A total of 350,000 people participated in the national maternal and child health skills contest, and a series of activities for the year of maternal and child health service were completed. Major public maternal and child health service projects were steadily pushed forward. More than six million rural women received checks for cervical and breast cancer. More than 11 million rural couples got free eugenics health examinations before childbirth, and 8.6 million rural pregnant and lying-in woman received subsidies for hospitalization costs. A total of 820,000 infants in counties in poor areas were offered free nutrition packages.