Health delegates to present ideas at Two Sessions

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01:56

China's annual Two Sessions, the policymaking meetings covering a wide array of issues, are set for next week. Delegates from the health sector presented their ideas to the media ahead of bringing them to the national gathering.

A slew of suggested improvements to China's health sector are about to be discussed. Far-reaching investigations last year by health officials and doctors uncovered problems that some said need immediate attention.

Legislator Ge Minghua is the dean of Zhajiang Peoples' Hospital. "With the help of our provincial hospital, a county-level one has seen a dramatic increase in outpatients and operations. I'll continue to focus on improving medical abilities at the community level," he said.

Others have prepared detailed plans. "To eliminate rabies by 2030 as the World Health Organization aims, I suggest making officials from cities to communities, to even villages responsible for that. We have to evaluate if their area has rabies, if every dog has been vaccinated, including stray dogs," said Gao Fu, political adviser and director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vaccine scandals in 2018 worried the public about the country's drug safety. Political adviser Fang Laiying called for setting up a national system to trace every pill.

"When some drug is found to be unsafe, the biggest challenge is how to stop people using them at once. We should establish a system to trace the production, sale, and adoption to reach every patient. It's possible to complete that in three years," explained Fang. He said the system will also help cope with after-using reaction to drugs, and prevent fake drugs coming into the national system.

There are over 200 legislators and political advisers from China's health sector. They'll bring their observations and expertise to the Two Sessions in early March. Some could be turned into actions carried out around the country.