IN BRIEF (Page 7)

Beijing

China to scale up aid for sick children

The National Health Commission said on Monday that financial aid will be provided to more children and minors with congenital diseases this year. A program, launched in 2017 to help impoverished patients, will be expanded to cover all 31 provincial-level regions on the mainland, a circular released by the commission said. Under the program, patients 18 or under from households with economic difficulties will be eligible for subsidies ranging from 3,000 yuan ($446) to 30,000 yuan. Official data suggest that more than 200,000 newborns show clinically visible defects at birth each year in China, with most being structural congenital disorders.