Box 11 Poverty Alleviation Through Health Promotion

China has strengthened efforts to improve health institutions and build their workforce at the village, township and county levels. 1,007 leading hospitals have been paired up with 1,172 county-level hospitals in poor areas to provide the support they need, sending the equivalent of 118,000 health workers to help poor areas establish 3,700 key clinical departments and introduce 53,000 projects, including some involving new technology. The incoming doctors have treated 55 million outpatients, performed 1.9 million surgeries, and cured 6 million inpatients. More than 60,000 medical students have been admitted to a program that offers free training for medical students who have working contracts with rural medical institutions. Some 30,000 have graduated and become doctors at their contract hospitals and health centers in townships. A special-post program has been introduced to hire general practitioners. Some 5,000 general practitioners have been hired through the program, adding up to 50,000 general practitioners in poor areas. More than 100,000 health workers have been hired and managed by county governments to work in townships, or by township governments to work in villages, to support local health services. Alternative means of support such as visiting doctors and resident doctors have also been introduced. Telemedicine covers all poor counties and is being introduced to township health centers. As always, China has emphasized the importance of prevention; it has strengthened the comprehensive network to prevent and control major diseases, and to improve the health of key groups. Patriotic health campaigns and health promotion actions are carried out. Concerted efforts have been made in the prevention and control of infectious and endemic diseases in the “three areas and three prefectures”. As a result, the diseases that caused great suffering to local people have either been eradicated or brought under effective control.