China launched a massive health education program Friday in a bid to curb the fast increase of non-communicable diseases in the country.

"The program will focus on one major chronic disease each year and the theme of this year is hypertension," said Qi Xiaoqiu, general director of the Department of Disease Prevention and Control under the Health Ministry.

According to statistics from the Health Ministry, about 160 million Chinese suffer from hypertension. Meanwhile, more than 20 million Chinese have diabetes and about 200 million are overweight.

Kong Lingzhi, director of the department of the non-communicable diseases with the Health Ministry, said in contrast with the fast increase of chronic diseases in China, Chinese people's awareness of the diseases is worrying.

"The awareness rate of hypertension among Chinese people is only 30.2 percent. Most people don't know hypertension can cause serious cerebral and coronary heart diseases," she said.

E. Allan Gabor, chairman and general manager of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Limited, said the awareness rate of hypertension in the United States is 70 percent, which is the result of decade-long efforts on health education.

"Health education is a long-term process, but also a basic measure to prevent chronic diseases," he said. "It needs joint efforts of the government, the public and the private sectors."

Kong said China has lagged behind in public health education compared with many western countries. "We hope the program will help make up the gap and reduce the threat and damage from the non-communicable diseases to Chinese society."

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2005)