China has promised that its basic medical and health care system
will cover all rural residents by 2010.
The Ministry of Health, on behalf of the Chinese government,
made the promise on Friday at a two-day forum on China's rural
health care services, organized jointly by the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the China's Ministry of Health.
The government's investment will account for the main part of
the fund for the system and the government will also encourage
other public bodies and individuals to raise funds for the
system.
The ministry said the government will increase investment in
rural and remote areas. A three-level medical and health care
system including the county, township and village will be built all
over the country, the ministry said.
The government will ensure there is one public hospital for each
township and one clinic for each village.
It promised to upgrade the medical care infrastructure in rural
areas and continue to upgrade them in accordance with economic
development so as to offer better services for rural people.
The government will also train medical staff to work in rural
areas and build a long-term mechanism with urban areas supporting
rural areas.
Currently, the cooperative medical care system is the main
system in rural areas.
Under this system, subscribers are funded at a level of 50 yuan
per person -- 20 yuan from the central government, 20 yuan from the
local government and 10 yuan from the individual.
This year, the central government allocates 10.1 billion yuan
(US$1.346 billion) for the system, 5.8 billion yuan more than last
year.
By the end of last June, the cooperative medical care system in
rural areas, initiated in 2003 to offer farmers basic health care,
covered 720 million rural residents, or 82.8 percent of the
country's rural population, ministry statistics show.
(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2007)