China should invest more in and attach greater importance to its
fragile public health system, especially following the assault of
the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, experts from
various circles said Monday.
Public health is not just the domain of the health department, said
Hu Yonghua, director of the institute of public health at Beijing
University who has formed a research team to investigate the
mysterious SARS disease.
Hu
said the team aims to analyze the lessons learned from the
perspective of China's public health system as a result of the
onslaught of the disease.
"This is the first time the infectious disease breaks out and we
know nothing about its causative agent and transmission method and
the susceptible population," he said.
Hu
Linlin, a researcher on China's national situation at the
prestigious Qinghua University, said it is the government that is
responsible for epidemic control and prevention and the women and
children's health care.
However, said Cai Renhua, director of the National Health Economics
Institute under the Ministry of Health, the proportion for public
health in the national budget has decreased year by year though the
actual amount has been rising over the past decade.
This resulted in a shortage of an emergency system in the country's
public health system, he said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that China spent 5.3
percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on sanitation and
medical sectors in 2000, slightly higher than the 5-percent floor
set by the World Health Organization (WHO), but much lower than in
developed countries.
The shortage of funds has limited the development of basic health
care services meant for all Chinese, said Hu Linlin.
The same criticism came from WHO representative in China Henk
Bekedam, who said, following the SARS breakout, that China's
investment in its public health system had long been
inadequate.
To
combat the SARS epidemic, the Chinese government has adopted
emergency measures in response to the criticism and suggestions,
including the allocation of 2 billion yuan (US$242 million) to set
up a special fund for the treatment of SARS.
The State Council, China's cabinet, decided to establish a
mechanism for emergency public health incidents and to set up a
disease prevention and control network at provincial, city and
county levels nationwide within this year. Some 3.5 billion yuan
(US$423 million) from the central budget will be used for these
projects.
Analyst Hu Angang has suggested that the government at all levels
should increase public health spending with a special focus on the
vast rural areas and on sanitation agencies at the grass-roots
level.
Cai Renhua highlighted the importance of disease prevention, saying
"good prevention work is better than the huge costs of a more
serious situation." Hu Yonghua emphasized the authority of the
disease prevention and control agencies.
Analysts here said that the experts' suggestions and the
government's measures indicate that the improvement of the public
health system has become a priority for policy-makers and for
society.
Bekedam said, during an interview with Xinhua, that through
continuous efforts, China's public health system will be capable of
handling the challenges in this field in about three to four
years.
(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2003)
