Local governments have been told to step up efforts to inoculate children against major epidemic diseases, following a slackening in the national drive.

In the early 1990s, China kept its promise to the United Nations that 85 per cent of its children would be inoculated against six infectious diseases TB, polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus.

However, the average rate has rapidly decreased to less than 75 per cent of the 16.5 million children born each year, according to Yu Jingjin, vice-director of the Department of Disease Control at the Ministry of Health.

Chinese law mandates that children be given free inoculation against seven diseases, including hepatitis B, which was added to the list in 2002.

Children in remote and rural children as well as those of poor farmers in cities are often ignored by the national inoculation project, Yu told a recent national conference on strengthening immunity against diseases.

Inoculation against measles in 1995 brought down the incidence of the disease to 5 children in 100,000 the lowest ever.

However, nearly 130,000 measles outbreaks were reported last year mainly in the poverty-stricken regions of western China.

"Measles can be effectively prevented by inoculation. This high incidence reflects the poor efforts by local governments in recent years," Qi Xiaoqiu, director of the Department of Disease Control at the Ministry of Health, told China Daily.

The main causes are local governments' lack of attention, shortage of funds and poor public health service networks in rural and remote areas, Qi said. To alleviate financial problems for local governments, the central government last year started an annual allocation of 216 million yuan (US$25 million) to 1,049 counties in West and Central China.

Source: China Daily