Seventy percent of the nation's public health crises take place
in schools, Vice-Minister of Health Wang Longde said on Friday.
And low public awareness is to blame, said Wang, ahead of World
Health Day on Saturday.
"The general public does not have sufficient knowledge about
maintaining health, a basic human right," Wang said. "Instructing
people on how to take care of their health is the government's
responsibility."
The alarmingly high incidence of undiagnosed health problems in
China, especially among city dwellers, is largely to do with
unhealthy lifestyles, according to Wang.
"Bad working habits, poor disease prevention knowledge,
inadequate government investment and lack of health education are
the main reasons behind this dire health situation," Wang said.
He said as society and the economy advanced, people will become
more concerned about their health and disease prevention, and the
government should provide support through education.
"Many ailments are easily cured with today's medical science,
and many people are vulnerable to diseases, and even death, because
they lack proper health education," Wang said.
Many healthcare initiatives were taken in China after the mass
outbreak of SARS in 2003 that put public health safety under the
spotlight.
In recent years, 14 billion yuan has been earmarked for the
Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the
Ministry of Health.
And in 2004, the ministry trained around 30 senior Chinese
medical and healthcare officials in infection control and risk
management.
(China Daily April 7, 2007)