Photo: VCG

China’s national maternal and infant mortality rates dropped to historic lows in 2022, ensuring that women’s and children’s rights and interests of health are effectively protected, China’s top health authority revealed on Wednesday. 

In 2022, the maternal mortality rate decreased to 15.7 per 100,000 puerperae, the infant mortality rate decreased to 4.9 per 1,000 live births, and the mortality rate for children under 5 decreased to 6.8 per 1,000 children, all reaching the lowest levels in history in China, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) announced during a press briefing on Wednesday. 

According to Song Li, director of the maternal and child health department of the NHC, the top health authority will promote a series of action plans for maternal and child health to be implemented effectively. 

Such action plans include the promotion of maternal and child safety, the health of children, and the capability to prevent birth defects. 

With the aim of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of major diseases that affect the health of women and children, action plans will be implemented to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, syphilis, and hepatitis B. In addition, an accelerated action plan to eliminate cervical cancer will be carried out. 

Besides, the NHC will actively promote the integration of women’s and children’s health with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for their development. 

Moreover, the NHC will promote the implementation of action plans of breastfeeding and reproductive health. 

Through the implementation of these action plans, the NHC aims to further enhance the capacity and level of maternal and child health services, continuously meet the new expectations of the people, achieve new progress in the prevention and control of key diseases affecting women and children, and improve the health status of women and children, Song said. 

The top health authority vows to reduce the maternal mortality rate to less than 12 per 100,000 puerperae, the mortality rate of children under the age of 5 to less than 6 per thousand by 2030, in a bid to further achieve high-quality development of maternal and child health, Song noted. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality rate, and maternal mortality rate as key measures of a country’s population health. Among these indicators, maternal and child health reflects the overall national health status, quality of life, and level of civilization of a country, Hu Qiangqiang, spokesperson for the NHC, said during the Wednesday briefing. 

Global Times