Poverty Alleviation of Ministry of Health

　　【Overview】In 2010, the Ministry of Health conscientiously implemented the  "Outline for Poverty Alleviation and Development of China's Rural Areas (2001-2010)", coordinated relevant departments to continuously increase investment in health protection of impoverished areas, adopted various effective measures to carry out poverty reduction by medical service and strived to address the medical service problem of the masses in impoverished areas. As a result, the health protection in poor areas witnessed rapid development.

　　The Ministry of Health actively coordinated relevant departments to constantly increase investment in the health protection of impoverished areas. In 2010, the central government invested 64.07 billion Yuan of public health care funds for impoverished areas, 38% up over 2009. It strengthened the infrastructure construction, actively coordinated the National Development and Reform Commission to give priority to construction projects of poor areas in improving grassroots medical service system. All the rural health care projects in 592 key counties for poverty alleviation and development were implemented and smooth progress was made.

　　【New rural cooperative medical system】In 2010, the financial departments at all levels increased the subsidy for the farmers who participated in the new rural cooperative medical system to 120 Yuan per person per year and the farmers of impoverished areas already benefited from the new rural cooperative medical system. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health encouraged medical agencies to remit some medical cost of poor farmers to further reduce the economic burden on the poor. In 2010, 610 million people in the central and western regions participated in the new rural cooperative medical system, accounting for 73% of the total in China (840 million).

　　【Maternal and child health projects】In 2010, the central government continued to provide subsidies for rural maternal hospital delivery to reduce the mortality rate of pregnant and lying-in women and the projects to get rid of tetanus of neonates. The maternal and child health indicators of project areas were improved year by year, showing a good situation of “one improvement and three declines”, which effectively protected women and children’s right to health.

　　【Major disease prevention and control】 In 2010, 46.6 million Yuan of main contagion prevention and control project funds were issued to impoverished areas. The Ministry of Health further improved the immune planning, actively coordinated central financial funds to support the purchase of cold chain equipment, vaccines and syringes of impoverished areas; strengthened AIDS prevention and control, arranged 1.68 billion Yuan for AIDS prevention and control in poor areas and went to Sichuan, Guangxi and Xinjiang to carry out AIDS prevention and control propaganda activities; allocated 560 million Yuan of central government transfer payments for prevention and control of regional tuberculosis, mainly supporting patient detection, treatment, management, health education, etc.; allocated 70.03 million Yuan for chronic disease prevention and control in poor areas and conducted esophageal cancer and breast cancer early detection and treatment, cancer follow-up registration, integrated chronic disease intervention, chronic disease and nutrition surveillance, etc.  

　　【Rural patriotic sanitation campaign】 In 2010, the central finance invested 455 million Yuan to support the toilet and water pipeline improvement. Among the 129 already named national sanitary counties across China, 25 were key counties for national poverty alleviation and development, accounting for 19%. The sanitary environment of poverty-stricken areas has been improved.

　　【Health care team building】 In 2010, 109 million Yuan was invested in impoverished areas for ten thousand doctors to support rural health care; In the 592 key counties for poverty alleviation, medical agencies above Grade II were designated to provide counterpart support for township hospitals, which effectively strengthened the health care team building in impoverished areas.

　　【Field research for poverty alleviation】 Leaders of the Ministry of Health personally headed investigation groups to conduct field research in Bijie Experimental Area of Guizhou Province and explore specific ideas and supportive measures for the construction of pilot projects in Bijie, and signed with Guizhou Provincial People’s Government the "Cooperation Agreement on Supporting the Leapfrog Development of Health Care Industry in Experimental Area of Bijie"; went to Gansu Province for field research on the development of health care industry and developed the "Opinions of the Ministry of Health on Further Supporting the Development of Health Care Industry of Gansu", which boosted the development of health care industry in Gansu Province.

　　【Poverty alleviation by sending cadres】  In 2010, the Ministry of Health selected Wang Maojiu, Vice President of Parasitic Disease Prevention & Control Institute of China Center for Disease Control & Prevention, and Sun Wuanfu, Vice President of Medical College of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety of China Center for Disease Control & Prevention, to work temporarily in Aba Prefecture, Sichuan, and they assisted the vice prefecture governor to coordinate health, sports, ethnic minority language and chronicles work.