Vice-Health Minister Zhu Qingsheng said that 60-80 per cent of Chinese die because they cannot afford health care. Among farmers, 40-60 per cent have never had a medical visit.

Beijing (AsiaNews/SCMP) – Almost one Chinese in two (48.9 per cent) did not go to hospital last year when they needed medical care and 29.6 per cent of patients had to cut short their stays in hospital. About 45 per cent of urban residents and 79 per cent of people living in rural areas were without coverage, this according to nationwide surveys cited by China's Vice-Health Minister Gao Qiang and Zhu Qingsheng in a report released yesterday in Beijing at national health work conference.

The alarming data show that China, with 22 per cent of the world's population, has only 2 per cent of its medical resources.

The report points out that 80 per cent of medical facilities were concentrated in urban areas and the remaining 20 per cent in the countryside.

To make matters worse, health care costs are rising fast: 11 per cent last year.

Mr Zhu Qingsheng said that anywhere between 40 to 60 per cent of farmers could not afford medical care and 60 to 80 per cent of Chinese died at home because they could not meet health care costs.

The reason for this situation in a country whose GNP is growing at 8 per cent a year lies in the lack of resources, in adequate public funding and a medical profession whose qualifications fall short of what is needed.

In rural areas inappropriate drugs and inappropriate drug use of are up; 190,000 died from improper use last year.

The Beijing conference was attended by Vice-Premier and Health Minister Wu Yi, who said the health care system still faced serious challenges in the new year.

In his speech, Vice-Fealth Minister Gao Qiang presented his action plan whose targets are strengthening the public health infrastructure, preventing the spread of serious diseases, curbing price rises for medicines and increasing public contributions for health care plans for individuals.

One measure will see more than 10,000 doctors sent from urban areas to provide medical services to villagers and help train their rural counterparts in the use of new technology.

The government also pledged greater price controls for drugs and closer scrutiny of professional licences for medical and pharmacy staff.

• china
• health
• care
• economy
• development
• farmers
• poverty