China speeds up public health system construction

In view of the occurrence and spreading out of infectious diseases, the Ministry of Health has strengthened the supervision and early warning on epidemic situation in the country, studied and worked out prevention and control strategies and carried out directing prevention and cure technical guidance by taking some active measures. Wang Longde, vice Minister of Health disclosed at the press conference held by the Information Office of the State Council the other day: the Ministry of Health will also conduct function adjustment inside itself, and set up emergency office. A new working operation system dealing with emergent public health events is forming.

In order to deal well in emergency treatment in case of serious epidemic situation and emergent public health events, the Ministry of Health has formulated emergent prevention plans, pointed out Wang Longde, and has also strengthened the personnel training, emergency exercises as well as inspection and supervision work. Corresponding to the emergency office of the Ministry of Health, relevant organizations have been established or with special offices designated at all local administrative departments and organizations for disease prevention and control to deal with emergencies in public health work.

In order to strengthen the supervision of epidemic situation of infectious diseases, the Ministry of Health laid special stress on the construction of the State Disease Prevention and Control Center database and information platform. It has accomplished the development of the software such as "SARS case reporting information system", "Human bird flu case reporting information system", "Infectious diseases and emergent public health events supervision information system". From last January till now, over 80 percent of medical organizations above the county level in all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities under the direct jurisdiction of the central government, 27 percent of township hospitals and country/district level disease prevention and control centers have conducted real-time epidemic situation report through the network, thereby realizing the dynamic statistics and analyses of infectious diseases and emergent public health events supervision.

According to Wang, greater efforts have been taken by governments at all levels to support the infrastructure construction of the disease prevention and control center. In recent years, the central national treasury has invested RMB 2.92 billion yuan, and the local governments put in RMB 6.4 billion yuan in the construction of 2,443 disease prevention and control key projects at provincial, local and county levels. Most of these projects will be put into use by 2004. The Ministry of Heath and Ministry of Finance have cooperatively launched a project with 65-million -Euro loan and 7-million Euro donation from German government for the equipment in the disease prevention and control center in the west of China. The Ministry of Health has also co-launched with the Ministry of Finance and National Development and Reform Commission the construction project with 100-million-US Dollar-loan from the Japanese government for the equipment in the disease prevention and control center in Central China; and there are also RMB 0.35 billion yuan from the state finance which will be used for the project of adding equipment for provincial and local disease prevention and control centers in central and western areas of China. The implementation of these projects will greatly improve the capability of disease prevention and control as well as health emergency work.

By People's Daily Online