China's central government has sent more than 2,400 medics in 11 different groups to various hospitals in the Xizang autonomous region since 2015, contributing to the development of healthcare in the region, health authorities said at a news conference on Monday.

The "group-style" medical aid initiative was first introduced at the sixth central symposium on Xizang-related work in August 2015. While, at the beginning, the initiative mainly supported the Xizang Autonomous Region People's Hospital and seven municipal-level hospitals, the program received a boost in August 2021 when the central government extended support to 13 county-level hospitals across the region.

Tan Xiangdong, deputy director of Xizang's health commission, said at the news conference that the group-style medical aid program primarily focused on cultivating different medical disciplines, fostering local healthcare talent, and advancing high-altitude medical research, having a transformative impact across the region.

"The collective contributions of these experts have been instrumental in improving healthcare delivery systems in one of the most geographically challenging regions in the country," said Tan.

Tan said that, thanks to the continuous efforts made as part of the program, by the end of 2020, the maternal mortality rate in the region had dropped to 48 per 100,000, from 108.86 per 100,000 in 2014. Over the same period, the infant mortality rate declined significantly to 7.6 per 1,000, from 16.81 per 1,000.

"Meanwhile, the average life expectancy in the region rose to 72.19 years by end of 2020, making it the highest growth in the nation," Tan added.