The 2015 Report of Disease Prevention and Control Progress in China

Source: en.nhfpc.gov.cn

Updated: 2015-06-03

Ⅵ.Public Health on Occupation and Environment etc.

Occupational health examination, diagnoses and identification of occupational diseases regime and national occupational hygiene and radiation hygiene standards have been refined, with occupational health in workplaces and occupational health education promoted. Regulations on the Diagnoses and Identification of Occupational Diseases and the Occupational Diseases Classification and Catalogue have been revised. Meanwhile the General Diagnostic Principles of Occupational Diseases have been released. Up to 2014, valid occupational hygiene and radiation hygiene standards had reached 351 and 163, respectively. Major occupational diseases in over 3600 enterprises from 134 counties in China have been monitored, covering about 170,000 populations. With the strengthened capacity of occupational disease prevention and treatment institutions and the growing number of occupational health examination and diagnosis institutions, workers have been provided with good occupational health services across the country. Medical radiation protection and quality control monitoring in clinical institutions has expanded from 17 provinces during the period 2010-2013 to the whole country in 2014, and the management of radiation imaging and radiation therapy in clinical institutions have been further improved. A preliminary monitoring network for potable water quality in urban and rural areas has been built up to estimate the basic condition of potable water across the country. By 2014, the network had covered all of the cities and counties as well as 60% of the towns in China. Hygienic assessment has been applied to rural drinking water safety projects, and instructions on water supplies reconstruction have been provided in water-borne disease endemic areas. Since 2013, the central government has supported conducting surveillance of air pollution to identify its impact on population health, covering 31 provinces by 2014. This long-term continuous monitoring is expected to reveal the influence of air pollution on people’s health. School health has been promoted constantly. School report system for epidemic disease and disease-caused absences are refined. Sanitation standards for schools have been issued and put into effect. Prevention and control measures have been implemented for common diseases among students including shortsightedness, overweight and malnutrition. Surveillance for students health factors, including teaching environment, potable water, dormitory conditions, has been piloted.

Ⅶ. Scientific Research in Disease Prevention and Control

In recent years, the government initiates a group of significant science research projects on the prevention and control of major diseases with increased financial input, which have supported and guided the prevention and control of diseases. Major Science and Technology Projects for Essential Drug Research and Development and major infectious diseases (including AIDS and viral hepatitis) prevention and treatment were launched in 2008. The goal of Essential Drug Research and Development Project is to independently develop and transform a group of drugs against 10 major diseases including malignant tumors, enrich national drug invention system and enhance China’s innovative capability, so as to accelerate the transition from imitation to innovation, from a big medicine country to a strong medicine country. The major infectious diseases prevention and treatment project targets to set up and improve technological system of infectious diseases prevention and control, by developing products for diagnosis, prevention and treatment, therapeutic schemes and strategies for prevention and control. This project will provide solid scientific support to reduce morbidity and mortality of AIDS, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis, and to improve capacity in prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases. Since the initiation of these two special projects, six years have passed. The central government has put in over 20 billion yuan and a group of phased outcomes have been achieved: A group of new drugs have been invented with 83 New Drug certificates in total; the Prevention and Control technique system for emerging infectious diseases has been established, being at the cutting-edge position in monitoring and identification of pathogens; a group of diagnosis and treatment schemes for infectious diseases have been optimized and included in national guidelines; new technological products have been developed and timely applied to disease prevention and control practices.

In the meanwhile, through coordination of the National Basic Research Development Plan (Plan 973), the National High-tech Research and Development Plan (Plan 863) and the National Scientific Support Plan, fruitful achievements have been accomplished in basic research and edge technology research for disease prevention and control.

Ⅷ. International Cooperation in Disease Prevention and Control

China has always been playing an active role in discussions on global disease prevention and control and willing to share our experience. In the framework of International Health Regulations (2005), China has stayed in timely and closed contact with WHO and other countries and regions, actively shared virus clones, and responded to epidemic diseases such as H7N9 avian influenza in an open, transparent and effective way. Advanced ideas, strategies, technologies and successful experience on disease prevention and control are induced into China via a plenty of international projects between NHFPC (formerly known as MOH) and many international organizations, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the World Bank, WHO, USCDC, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Japan International Cooperative Agency. These projects have successfully promoted the disease prevention and control in China. Regional health cooperation is accelerated beginning with the China-ASEAN cooperation in infectious diseases prevention and control. International aiding in disease prevention and control is highly valued, by providing academic exchange and training on disease prevention and control for African health management and technical personnel, setting up malaria prevention and treatment centers in 30 African countries, assisting Zanzibar in prevention and treatment of schistosomiasis, and participating international rescue during the Indonesia tsunami and the Philippine typhoon Haiyan. After the breakout of Ebola in West Africa, China has sent about a thousand public health experts and medical staff to the frontier of the Ebola epidemic, engaging in virus detection, patients treatment, public health worker training, achieving remarkable outcomes. At the same time, prevention measures are reinforced against virus introduction to China, successfully reaching the goal of zero introduction and zero incidence.

Ⅺ. Patriotic Health Campaign

The Patriotic Health Campaign is an innovative and successful application of mass line to public health, and an important component of Socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Patriotic Health Campaign has always featured the resolution of main public health problems occurring in people’s production and lives. In past decades, we have successively initiated campaigns such as Four Major Pest Control campaign, the Two Control and Five Improvement program, Water supply and Sanitation program in the rural areas, Hygienic City and Town building, Health Education program for 900 million farmers and National Environmental Sanitation Action in Urban and Rural Areas. These campaigns are welcomed and highly praised by the public.

Implementation of Environmental Sanitation

To improve the environment and keep our homeland clean has always been a crucial task of the Patriotic Health Campaign. In 2010, the National Patriotic Health Campaign Committee launched National Environmental Sanitation Action in Urban and Rural Areas. All parts of the country built and improved their basic health facilities according to actual need, and initiated programs such as garbage clearing, river realignment, polluted water disposal, water supply and latrine reformation and agricultural products market reconstruction. With these efforts, the once unsanitary and disordered scenes presented in some urban and rural areas are improved to some extent, and meanwhile a variety of livelihood issues are properly addressed.