Start of national campaign to build a healthy China

CONSTRUCTION OF A HEALTHY CHINA requires supply-side structural reform in the field of healthcare services. People's Daily comments:

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has recently issued a guidance document on implementing the Healthy China Action Plan (2019-30). This indicates a nationwide health campaign has officially started.

People's health is the basic foundation for people's all-round development as well as the nation's social and economic development. Good health is not only people's common pursuit, it is also an important factor for national prosperity and strength. Therefore, health is a significant part of national and local governance. Ensuring a healthy China requires building a comprehensive healthcare system, improving national health policies and further promoting people's awareness of a healthy lifestyle.

China has made great achievements in health management since New China was founded. Since the 1950s, China has made great efforts to address people's growing demand for medical care, and gradually established a medical and health service system from the provincial to the village level. Since reform of the health system was implemented in 2009, a basic medicine system has been gradually established nationwide, and basic public health services are provided for free throughout the country. With a comprehensive urban and rural resident medical insurance system covering all its citizens established, China has built the world's largest medical insurance system.

With the country's rapid social and economic development in recent years, as well as social changes including urbanization, industrialization and an aging population, people's health service demands have also changed. As more and more chronic diseases related to unhealthy lifestyles have become the main threats to people's health, national health management needs to change from dealing with disease to people taking responsibility for their health. Therefore, health service supply-side structural reform is required to adapt to the new health management demands.

To promote supply-side structural reform of the health service, a team of qualified general medical practitioners and a scientific hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system need to be established. Big hospitals should actively cooperate with grassroots hospitals to provide them with quality medical talent and technologies, in order to achieve greater equality in the provision of medical services.