The Chinese central government on Wednesday issued a white paper on the country's medical and health services, noting that medical and health care systems covering both urban and rural residents have taken shape.

Mr. Zhang Mao,Party Secretary and Vice Minister of Health.[Photo/China.org.cn]

The white paper, "Medical and Health Services in China", was released by the Information Office of the State Council, or China's Cabinet, saying that China has kept advancing the reform of its health care system to ensure that every resident has access to safe, effective, convenient and affordable services.

The paper revealed that the health of the Chinese people is now among the top in developing countries with an overall life expectancy of 74.8 years in 2010, 72.4 years for males and 77.4 years for females.

The mortality rate of children under five has kept dropping from 34.9 per thousand in 2002 to 15.6 per thousand in 2011, attaining ahead of schedule the UN Millennium Development Goal in this regard, the white paper said.

The infant mortality rate had went down from 29.2 per thousand in 2002 to 12.1 per thousand in 2011, it said.

By the end of 2011, medical and health care institutions around China totaled 954,000, an increase of 148,000 over 2003. Licensed doctors (assistants) reached 2,466,000, or 1.8 per thousand people, as compared with 1.5 per thousand people in 2002.

The seven-part white paper revealed that Chinese residents went to the medical institutions for medical treatment 4.6 times on average annually, 11.3 of every 100 people were hospitalized.

The paper said although China has made remarkable achievements in the development of its healthcare undertakings, they still fall far short of demands from the public as well as economic and social development.

It became an issue of major importance for the Chinese government to provide better and more accessible medical and health services to the public, it said.

By 2011, more than 1.3 billion people had joined the three basic medical insurance schemes that cover both urban and rural residents of the world's most populous country, the white paper said.

Chinese government has strived to make access to basic public health services more equitable by providing all residents with a free package of 41 basic public health services in ten categories, including health record, health education and preventive inoculation.

As one of the most notable and influential undertakings of China's healthcare work, national immunization program has been implemented, the white paper said.

China has signed treaties with the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) contents or special TCM cooperation agreements with over 70 countries, and cooperation in TCM application in foreign countries, and more than 160 countries and regions around the world have access to the TCM, the white paper said.

The TCM acupuncture and moxibustion has been recognized as a masterpiece of the intangible heritage of mankind, and the Huangdi Neijing (Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor), Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica) and other TCM treatises have been included in the UNESCO Memory of the World, according to the white paper.

The Chinese government had sent medical teams to 73 countries by 2011 since its first abroad medical team was sent to Algeria in 1963, and 56 Chinese medical teams are currently working in 53 countries including Algeria, Tanzania, Morocco and Zimbabwe.

So far, about 900 Chinese medical team members have been awarded honors by the recipient countries, and 50 members died during their service abroad, the white paper added.

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