Guideline targets chronic illnesses

By 2030, nation aims to raise healthy life expectancy by 'moderately great extent'

China plans to curb increasing rates of chronic illnesses and effectively prevent and contain the spread of key contagious diseases by 2022, according to a guideline issued by the State Council on Monday.

By 2030, the country will increase its average healthy life expectancy by "a moderately great extent" and align itself with high-income countries in terms of key indicators of health, the guideline said.

Deaths resulting from chronic, non-communicable diseases account for 88 percent of the country's mortality rates. These chronic conditions also contribute to more than 70 percent of medical burdens, according to Yu Xuejun, deputy head of the National Health Commission.

Among them, cardiovascular problems, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes have emerged as major threats to citizens' health in recent years, partially due to unhealthy lifestyles such as tobacco use, lack of exercise and poor health awareness, he added.

Meanwhile, critical contagious diseases including hepatitis, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS continue to pose challenges to the country's prevention and control capability, Yu said.

"The guideline has specifically targeted these key health issues and aims at addressing them from the roots," he said at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office on Monday.

According to the guideline, the country will continue to push for early screenings and diagnoses of cancer and promote standard treatments of common tumors while boosting the capabilities of grassroots clinics and medical workers in central and western parts of the country.

Strengthened efforts will be devoted to research into new cancer treatments, as well as into accelerating approval procedures for urgently needed medications.

China aims to raise the five-year survival rate of all cancer patients to 43.3 percent by 2022 and 46.6 percent by 2030, the guideline said. The current rate stands at 40.5 percent, according to data released by the National Cancer Institute in January.

In order to further reduce smoking, the guideline calls for comprehensive measures, including altering its tax policies and pricing strategies as well as forming standards to govern packaging of tobacco products.

"Government officials, health workers and teachers should play a leading role in reducing tobacco use," the guideline said.

As China ramps up its efforts in environmental protection in recent years, the document also highlights the significance of creating a clean environment while combating and preventing pollution in improving the health of local residents.

It proposes setting up a surveillance and risk evaluation system that analyzes the dynamics between environmental factors and people's health status. Furthermore, it calls for effective measures to rein in diseases arising from exposure to pollutants.

China's central leadership published an outline in 2016 to guide the Healthy China 2030 Initiative, a national plan aimed at advancing public health services.

In order to ensure full implementation of the guideline, the State Council also released a notice on Monday that lays out organizational structures and assessment requirements. A committee headed by Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan has also been established to oversee its enforcement.

The committee has developed an action plan that specifies measures to be taken from 2019 to 2030 to promote the health of citizens. It addressed 15 key areas in the health sector, such as advocating knowledge of health, balanced diet and exercises, and specified the roles of individuals, families, social institutions and government bodies in pursuing goals in these areas, according to Mao Qun'an, head of the National Health Commission's planning and information department.