Editor's note: Statistics of the National Health Commission, the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine show that high-quality medical services in China have played an increasingly important role in protecting people’s health.

Medical capacity improved

From January to September in 2023:

• Medical institutions in China recorded a total of 5.11 billion visits and discharged 220 million patients;

• Hospital bed occupancy rate reached 80.2%.

In the first half of 2023, China's public health institutions provided health management services for:

• 89.88 million individuals aged 65 and above;

• 110 million patients with hypertension;

• 37.63 million patients with type II diabetes;

An increase of 40%, 3.3% and 6.9%, respectively, over the same period in 2022

Public health protection strengthened

• Transmission of HIV/AIDS through blood transfusion and blood products has been blocked in China. The coverage rate of antiviral treatment has exceeded 90%. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is at a low level of prevalence.

• Incidence of tuberculosis has steadily decreased nationwide.

• Number of new cases of viral hepatitis has decreased significantly.

• Major parasitic diseases have been controlled or eliminated.

• All 452 schistosomiasis-endemic counties nationwide have met the standards for blocking transmission of the disease.

• Vaccination rate of eligible children under the immunization program remains at over 90%, and the incidence of various vaccine-preventable infectious diseases has dropped to a historical low.

• The central government allocates an annual budget of over 3 billion yuan ($419.4 million) to provide free vaccines to residents, expanding the coverage to include 14 types of vaccines targeting15 diseases.

Maternal and child health enhanced

In 2022, China reported:

• a maternal mortality rate of 15.7 per 100,000;

• an infant mortality rate of 4.9‰;

• a mortality rate of children under five of 6.8‰;

• All of these figures dropped to historical lows, positioning China at the forefront of middle- and high-income countries.

TCM services boosted

• At present, China has established a system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) services that covers provincial, municipal, county and township-level regions. 

• The coverage rate of county-level TCM service institutions has reached 87.78%.

• There are more than 40,000 TCM service centers nationwide.

• 99.5% of community-level medical service centers and 99.4% of township-level medical clinics are capable of providing TCM services.