An international project was launched in Beijing Thursday to help China enhance the ability to develop health policies and build an efficient and equitable health system.

The China Health Policy Support Project was jointly initiated by the Chinese Ministry of Health, the British Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Chinese Minister of Health Gao Qiang hoped the project would "enhance the research and policy making ability of the Chinese health department."

According to ministry sources, the DFID will, during the 4-year span of the project, offer 6 million pounds (US$10.8 million) in subsidies -- 4.8 million pounds to the Chinese government and 1.2 million pounds to the WHO.

The focus of the project will be on enhancing human capacity building by various means such as training and fora for decision makers, said Liu Xinmin, an official with the Ministry of Health.

Gao said at the project launching ceremony that bilateral and multilateral exchanges and cooperation in the health field is more urgent than ever as new contagious diseases have posed threat to mankind in the process of economic and trade globalization.

The minister spoke highly of China-Britain cooperation in the health field over past few years, saying, "A number of cooperation projects have been carried out or launched, and in particular, the cooperation has yielded remarkable progress in raising fund for AIDS control and health care for the poor population, and the development of community health care services."

The DFID is an agency of the British government responsible for helping developing countries eliminate extreme poverty. Its Beijing office was established in July 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2005)