TCC Health Team News June 2012 - Denmark in China/media/Kina/Trade Council... · TCC Health Team News – June 2012 Page | 2 Dear companies, partners, businessmen, health workers,

TCC Health Team News – June 2012

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Dear companies, partners, businessmen, health workers, students, scientist - and everyone else who hold interest in the

development of the Health- & Life Science market in China!

This is the first newsletter to you from the team of commercial counsellors working in The Trade Council China, under The

Danish Foreign Ministry. If interest continues, we will plan to make 3-4 annual newsletters like this one, with updates of what

is going on in China in this field, but since this is the very first issue of the newsletter, we still have to experiment until we

have found the final form. We trust you will be tolerant with us until then!

So, is there at all need for another newsletter from China? We believe so. A rule-of-thumb used by western companies when

they want to predict how fast things will develop in China, is to look back at how fast the same thing developed in the West, -

and then divide by 3. Not a sure-fire method, but pretty good considering it is the future you boldly try to predict. But it also

means that policies develop and change overnight, new market blossoms in places you did not expect to see them, and most

importantly: You must often build up your brand, adjust your product, value proposition or distribution set-up faster than

you are used to in the west. The potential however, is huge if you get it right in China.

When you ask the question to small- and medium sized companies in Denmark: “What kind of help would you need to start up your

business in China?” you sometimes get the answer “Well, I just need to go there and then maybe meet a distributor or two”. Maybe that is

right - if you are very lucky. But would you use this happy-go-lucky attitude if you wanted to enter a market like i.e. Germany?

Or even Norway? Probably not. Most likely you would first take a look at your market match, distribution chains, possible

investments and outcome etc. ect. In short: Make a business case to a scale suiting your company. Within the next couple of

years China is estimated to have a middle-income population of about 500 million people. That is a market roughly the same

size of the entire population of US and EU combined. I would say that’s a market worth preparing for!

I guess the biggest challenge is the mind-set we still have about China. When I was a kid (born 1959), my friends and I played

with toys “Made in Hong Kong”. It was cheap stuff of low quality, and we knew it. We also talked about our “Rich Uncle

from America” who suddenly could turn up from nowhere and make everything possible. Nowadays, the purchasing power

of the average citizen of Shanghai is the same as it is for the average citizen of Washington D.C. Furthermore, 1 out of 500

Chinese has a personal fortune of more than 5 million DKK. I believe we tend to get stuck with the image of “Made in

China” and fail to realize that “My Rich Uncle from China” already exists. He may not turn up in Denmark for a while, but

we should definitely go visit him in China.

Meanwhile, I also meet many Danish companies who do take China seriously. Sometimes even very small companies indeed.

Compared to their size, they have tried entering overwhelming markets before. They often produce a niche product and often

they are world-leading in their class. They do all the steps right and they succeed: Map and agree on their own best strategy,

get their name trademarked, carefully do a partner search, have their products approved and registered timely, enter dialogue

and possibly cooperation with governments (central as well as provincial) and then they go to market. If you are small you are

perfectly aware that you cannot expect the entire elephant as your meal, but you should at least prepare yourself to get the

best chunk of it.

In the newsletters we will try to describe what is going on the Chinese market and how to prepare for it, and we will try to go

into some of the main challenges of the trade. Meanwhile, I hope you will enjoy this issue, and please do not hesitate to drop

me a line or two if you come to think of a particular issue which might be interesting to cover in our next issue.

Happy reading!

Jens Moth

[email protected]

Commercial Counsellor and Team Leader

Beijing, May 2012


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May 13-16, the Danish Consulate in Chongqing organized a business visit to Chongqing and Chengdu in West China, with the purpose to

promote Danish products, technologies and know-how in relation to the nursing home industry.

15 companies participated in the visit, which among others offered a visit at three nursing homes, meetings with the local

Civil Affairs Bureaus as well as pre-arranged meetings with potential Chinese partners and customers.

"In our meetings with local Civil Affairs Bureaus, we got confirmed that there exists a need for expansion of the nursing

home area in China. The local governments are very benevolent to support us in our vision to build Danish-inspired nursing

homes in West China in a few years. "The Trade Council's vision is: to coordinate, organize and facilitate the establishment of

a nursing home with Danish standards. Beside this, Danish companies also met their own contacts during the business visit

such as customers and partners for individual projects, which will hopefully result in increased Danish exports," Consul in

Chongqing Hans Halskov said.

The participating companies represented a variety of stakeholders related to the nursing home sector such as architects,

operators, education providers, equipment manufacturers and professional consultants as well as Danish investors.

One of the participants was Ergolet whose core competency is patient lifting solutions. Ergolet began looking at China as an

export market at the beginning of this year.

"During our visit to Chongqing and Chengdu, we have been confirmed of the need and thus the demand for our products in

China. Additionally, I found it interesting to attend a business promotion with participants from such different areas, all of

which relate to the nursing home sector and complementing each other well," said Export manager for Ergolet, Philip Harris

Another company, who participated, was Type2dialog, who provides healthcare competency development of employees in

approx. 30% of the Danish municipalities. Director Helene Hoffmann says:

“This is our first trip to China in order to assess the need and market opportunities. And I must say; the potential is

enormous. We've gotten more serious potential customer we now have to go home and follow up on. So the next step is to

adapt our products to the Chinese market and then find local partners. So it has certainly been a rewarding trip."

The background for the visit is the increasing number of elderly Chinese, who will need care in the coming years due to

China's demographical development. As a consequence, China is now opening up to foreign companies in the field of


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operating nursing homes and with this market visit, the path is now cleared to the nursing home market for the Danish

companies. The Danish Consulate in Chongqing plans to arrange another market visit this fall.

One of the architecture firms participating was KPF Arkitekter, who has designed several nursing homes in Denmark. "We've had some good, but long days in Chongqing and Chengdu. I think the consulate have managed to put together a powerful and effective program with a fine balance between getting information about the market in China and provide information to interested Chinese partners,” said Thomas Pedersen, architect and partner in the company.

While the work of the commercial counsellors is based from their missions in China, several times a year we participate in events or at seminars,

arrange delegation visits or do business consultancy trips to Denmark.

The Health- & Life Science team from China participated in to seminars arranged by the UNIK partnership and Medico

Innovation April 24-25, May 1 in Odense and Lyngby. Speakers and companies working in China shared their experiences on

the latest developments and trends in China, especially relevant for the Health- & Life Science industry. The group behind the

seminars is together with DK Innovation Centre Shanghai planning a fact-finding tour for companies interested in the China

Health- & Life Science Market in week 39. Interested can contact Rasmus Duong-Grunnet from INN Shanghai on

[email protected], or Dorthe Kjær Pedersen from Syddansk Universitet on [email protected]

Furthermore the Health- & Life Science Team participated in a seminar in Århus arranged by MTIC for selected companies

already involved in the China market of Health- & Life Science. Aim is to start an experience sharing network exploring best

practices of how to overcome the challenges of getting to market in China. For further information contact Karen

Søndergaard, [email protected]

This spring the Health Team of Trade Council China resumed with the quarterly network forum for Danish health companies aiming to create a

platform for networking as well as sharing of knowledge and experiences. On March 29 the first meeting since May 2011 was held in Shanghai at

participation of 9 Danish health companies.

The theme of the first meeting was the role of compliance management when running a multinational business in China.

Followed by a brief introduction by TCC health team leader, Jens Moth, the main speaker of the event, Ms Eva Yin,

Executive Director of Compliance of AstraZeneca, took the stage. With her extensive sector experience within the Chinese

pharmaceutical market she shed light on topics such as the FCPA/ UK bribery act and the RDPAC code of conduct – and

most importantly how AstraZeneca has developed a compliance model to gain governance and assurance in the dynamic but

challenging Chinese market. This was followed by a Q&A session and thereafter the 9 participating companies took the

chance to network and discuss the compliance topic further.

The network operates with various themes of interest to members and future topics to be touched upon include the issues of

reimbursement, building and sustaining networks among KOLs, distributor coordination, market segmentation strategies and

best practices on new product launches. The topic for the network’s next meeting on June 12 has yet to be settled upon at the

time of writing, yet it will this time be held in Beijing and will be hosted by Novo Nordisk.

mailto:[email protected]




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The Royal Danish Embassy hosted a high-level dinner in Beijing on May 29, 2012 gathering government officials and Novo Nordisk’s top

management as a start of the discussion on the issue of non-communicable diseases in China.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for 60% of all deaths worldwide. In China the equivalent figure is 85%,

meaning that diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer are critical and costly issues which are in dire need

to be handled.

Consequently the Chinese government’s Healthy China 2020 Strategy also entails a National Framework for NCD Prevention

and Control. The initiative gathered 15 different Chinese ministries, which set out for officials and industry experts to share

experiences on prevention, detection and treatment of NCDs.

Novo Nordisk participated with its top management from Denmark and China and was thus the only company to attend the

event. Aside from the 15 ministries the event was supported by the participation of Danish Ambassador to China, Mr Friis

Arne Petersen as well as Trade Council China commercial officer Christa Liu.


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Since this will be our first newsletter, it might be in place to present a snap-shot of the current status of the development of

the health system in China. The vast majority of initiatives currently taken by either central or provincial governments

regarding the health system of China, are somehow planned, described, outlined or encouraged in either the Health Care

Reform from 2009, the enhancement of the reform in 2011 or directly incorporated from the former into the 12th 5-year plan

from 2011. The mechanism of the 5-year plan can roughly be described as central guidelines, which thereafter trickle down

into the numerous plans of relevant ministries, provinces and other relevant organisations. As such, all initiatives may not be

initiated immediately throughout, but with the current pace of the country and its economy these initiatives most likely will be

carried out in the very near future, - if not already by some provinces. In the following we will choose to describe most

important initiatives regardless of which of the above framework in which they are anchored, since several of the initiatives

are intertwined in the different frameworks.

Health Insurance Schemes

After China began to realize that the health system was about to erode at an alarming rate as a consequence of the new

economic reforms in the 1980’ties, China began to conduct some experiments to improve the situation. One of these

experiments was the introduction of 3 health insurance schemes, - a model which later was introduced to all provinces. The

scheme consisted of 3 insurance schemes:

A – People working in the cities

B – People living in the cities but not working

C – The rural population.

The current plans further support the coverage of health expenses for all citizens throughout the 3 schemes, and although

the government will increase the funding of these schemes substantially (i.e. current amount of annual government

subsidizing is of RMB 200/year/citizen for the rural population) there still is a long way to go for securing health for all, -

especially the rural population.

The insurance scheme for the “B” and “C” above are still voluntary, but it is the ambition of the government that 95% of

the entire population should be insured and that the scheme for the rural population should be able to cover for 70% of the

in-hospital expenses. Furthermore, the government now encourages private insurance companies to make health insurance

products as a supplement to the ones above.


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Registration and infrastructure

One of the problems for the patients is the rigidity

of the system making it difficult to receive treatment

across regions or having your treatment data

transferred from one hospital/clinic to another. A

grave example of this is migrant workers who

basically cannot afford medical attention unless they

go back to their original registered city. Likewise the

financial levelling mechanisms between hospitals are

inadequate. The current plans include improving the

registration of patients by a social security card with

a data-chip for all citizens in China and better data-

exchange infrastructure across the health system.

Furthermore, plans have been launched to improve

and standardize health personnel training making it

possible to accept certifications across regions. The

quality measurement system of the hospitals, which

is the basis for measuring out the annual subsidy to

the hospital from the government, is also to be

modernized and reinforced.

Essential Drug List

During the last 2 decades China has seen the spending on drugs explode, and one of the many reasons for this is the

unsustainable structure of many hospitals getting their biggest income from selling drugs with considerable mark-ups. As a

mean to reduce the drug spending, China has several times in the past tried to introduce an Essential Drug Lists system

containing the most necessary drugs to be sold with very low mark-up, and either fully- or very highly reimbursed. Finally, in

2011 such a list was implemented on the national level, and drugs on the list are to be used exclusively in urban Community

Health Centres (CHCs) and Rural Health Centres.

Building a Tier of General Practitioners

As opposed to countries having a good part of the health system represented by General Practitioners (GP or family doctors)

as the primary care tier, China does not have any tradition for this. If you fall ill in China, you tend to go either to the village

or town clinic or directly to the hospital. Since this to some degree can be left to the individual’s choice, contacts and abilities,

seeking overly qualified help at a well-reputed hospital is often the solution for even minor diseases, with a waste of resources

as a result.

In countries with a good health force of GP’s, these often serve as “gate-keepers” treating patients within their ability and assuring a patient only is directed to a hospital in case this clearly is needed. China almost fully lacks this layer, but has realized the need and has thus launched ambitious plans to build up a system of GP’s in China:

15.000 extra new candidates will get a free GP education and will be sent to clinics in central and west China

15.000 Grass Root Level Doctors will be trained and upgraded to GP’s

120.000 existing Health Workers in Township Hospitals will be trained to GP’s

460.000 existing Health Workers in Village Clinics will be trained to GP’s The goal for China will be to have 1 GP for each 1.000 inhabitants, but the establishment of a tie of GP’s throughout the country will take tremendous effort and a long time. Keep in mind that some doctors at village hospitals only hold a 3-year medical education.


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Building new hospitals

Many of the existing hospitals either need a major rehaul or re-classification, and on top of that, new ones have to be built in

order to follow-up on the increased demand. The current plans include building 300 new ”County-level” hospitals, 1.000

”Central Township” hospitals, 13.000 new “Village Clinics”, and extensive renovations and re-classifications of existing hospitals.

Developing the use of Tele-Medicine

Few places in the world new technology is so easily and readily adopted as in China, and it seems perfectly natural to include

the development and increased use of telemedicine as a means to improve the provision of better health in China. Newly built

top-class elderly homes for the wealthy part of the population is reported to incorporate audio-visual intercoms on the rooms

for the elderly/patients to more easily to get in contact with health staff, and the general potential for elderly care seems

obvious since China’s official policy is to provide elderly care primarily in their homes.

As can be seen from the above, the plans China has for the health sector in the near future are extremely ambitious, but this

is also needed, since challenges have piled up since the erosion of the health system during the economic reforms of the

1980’ties. Where the country’s health system by WHO was estimated to be the best of any third world country in the early

1970’ties, WHO re-scored it to be ranking number 144 out of a total of 161 countries in the year of 2000, at which time

China had the world’s 6th largest economy.

Nowadays life-style diseases, deaths from pollution, increased prevalence of mental diseases are only a few of the challenges

China suddenly see a dramatic rise of. A recent survey by the Ping An medical insurance company found that Chinese

people's physical condition is on average 8.2 years older than their age indicates, which itself gives a pretty good indication of

how modern times also means modern lifestyles and –diseases.

A demographic development with more people to support by fewer supporting people may within the 20 years begin to

overshadow most of the other challenges mentioned. If we say we have an old-age burden in the West, it is little compared to

what China will face before 2050. The above graph speaks for itself, and gives an indication of what lies ahead of China: By

2050 3 non-working Chinese will have to depend on 1 working Chinese. How China will overcome this challenge will be

interesting to see. But if any country can do it, I am sure it is China.

Source: UN World Population Prospects, 2010

Total Dependency Rate

Old Age Dependency Rate (+65 years)

Child Dependency Rate (0-14 years)


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The health sector is with its status as a high-yield, high-tech sector one of Denmark’s flagship industries. The sector’s contribution to

technological and innovative progress makes it an important piece in the puzzle that is to ensure Danish growth and competitiveness in the future. In

this context China is a central market to consider.

Trade in medicines and pharmaceutical products Largest importers of Danish medicines and pharmaceutical

between Denmark and China, Hong Kong products in 2011

Source: Statistics Denmark

Historically, the Danish health sector has been known for its high levels of exports – a reputation it still lives up to as more

than 90 per cent of total production is exported. Many of the Danish companies within the industry have also chosen to go

East. In the period from 2002 to 2011 exports to China and Hong Kong have increased by 600 per cent, experiencing average

growth rates of 32 per cent.

In a global perspective, China and Hong Kong as a market is also gaining importance to the Danish industry. In 2011 China

was the industry’s 6th largest export market, making it the largest market outside of Europe except for USA. And the share of

the sector’s output exported to China keeps rising – from 2010 to 2011 the share increased from 3.8% to 5.2% in spite of

exports of medicines and pharmaceutical products from Denmark seeing an overall decrease.

Looking ahead the potential remains substantial. China’s 12th 5-year plan includes investments of 850 million RMB within all

parts of the health sector, which is a window of opportunity for the Danish sector to contribute throughout the value chain.

It is estimated that exports from Denmark’s health and life sciences sector will be able to double within few years, given that

current growth rates are maintained.

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Mn. DKK

Imports Exports Total trade

2,293

2,257

2,466

2,731

2,927

3,758

3,901

11,319

- 5,000 10,000 15,000

Japan

Finland

China, Hong Kong

United Kingdom

France, Monaco

Germany

Sweden

USA

Mn. DKK


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FAIRS What When Where

Rehabilitation China 2012 The 13th Shanghai Exhibition on Rehabilitation Nursing & Healthcare Products for the Disabled and the Aged will feature 600 Chinese and Foreign exhibiting companies.

June 7-9 Shanghai

CPhI China: The World's leading pharmaceutical ingredients exhibition with participation from more than 1,700 exhibitors and 27,000 visitors.

June 26-28 Shanghai

P-MEC China: Held alongside CPhI China, P-MEC China comprises more than 320 Chinese and international exhibitor within supply of pharmaceutical machinery, packaging solutions and laboratory equipment.

June 26-28 Shanghai

CHINA-PHARM 2012 The 17th China International Pharmaceutical Industry Exhibition will present more than 30,000 visitors and 500 exhibitors within the scope of pharmaceuticals.

September 24-27 Beijing

MEDTECH China 2012 This exposition sees participation from over 300 medical device manufacturing and development-related companies and around 7,000 visitors.

September 26-27 Shanghai

DENTECH China 2012 With over 500 exhibitors and 65,000 visitors DENTECH China is Asia’s leading exhibition within dental equipment, technology, and products.

October 24-27 Shanghai

Chinese Medicine Expo This exposition will see participation from more than 800 exhibitors within medical products, equipment as well as research & development and expects more than 20,000 visitors

October 31-November 2

Guangzhou

Orthopedic & Rehacare Canton 2013 The 3rd Orthopedic and Rehacare Exposition hosts around 300 booths showcasing over 2,000 kinds of products to over 6,000 professional visitors from over 60 countries.

March 29-31, 2013 Guangzhou

China Aid 2013 The leading trade show within the ageing and rehabilitation industry in China with more than 150 participating companies, whereof 50% are foreign.

May 2013 Shanghai

REOCCURING ANNUAL EVENTS What When

National Hearing Day March 3

Chinese Traditional Elderly Day September 9

World Ostomy Day October 6

World Psoriasis Day October 30

World Diabetes Day November 14

World Allergy Day December 9


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EXPORT START PACKAGES Small and medium-sized companies with international potential can receive support for counselling and assistance in export markets by the Trade Council’s representations abroad

Who can apply?

Small and medium-sized Danish companies with less than 100 employees and yearly turnover of 100 million DKK.

What does an Export Start Package include? One Export Start Package consists of 50 hours of counselling. The counselling is flexible and individually tailored to the needs of the company.

The Export Start Programme could include, for example:

Market- and competitor-analyses

Distributor and partner search

Counselling on the establishment of a business and market processing

Information regarding local market conditions and legislation

How much will the Trade Council co-finance? One company is eligible to receive a maximum of 3 packages per market, with a maximum of 6 packages in total, whereof 65 % of the regular hourly rate (915 DKK as of 1.1.2012) is subsidised.

How to apply? The application form for the Trade Council’s Export Start Programme can be found at virk.dk under Eksportstart. See more on how to apply at eksportraadet.um.dk.

JOINT EXPORT PROMOTIONS The Trade Council co-finances joint export promotion campaigns for groups of minimum five Danish companies. The aim is to broaden the knowledge of the participating companies about market and business conditions and creating contacts to business and collaboration partners abroad.

Who can apply?

Groups of minimum five Danish companies, businesses and industrial organizations, as well as enterprises providing export consultancy services, can apply for funds co-financing a joint export promotion campaign.

What does a joint export promotion campaign include? The co-financed funds may be granted in the relation to the following three project modules:

Preparation module Module elements may include:

Retrieval of market information

Plan the content of a joint export promotion campaign

Generate interest for the campaign among Danish companies

Implementation module Module elements may include:

Joint activity, e.g. a seminar, an exhibition or similar event in the target market

Contact meetings with potential business partners and company visits

Joint promotional material

How much will the Trade Council co-finance?

The Trade Council can co-finance up to 50 % of the approved project cost, though for preparation activities a

maximum of DKK 200,000 and for delegation visits a maximum of DKK 350,000 can be co-financed.

When is the application deadline?

Deadline Period of export promotion

August 1, 2012 November 2012 – October 2013

November 1, 2012 February 2012 – January 2014


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Selected cuts of Chinese News, March – May 2012

POLICIES & REIMBURSEMENT

Caijing, 30/03/2012: China Shenzhen to Pilot Medical Reforms This Year

The reform, the so-called "separation between doctors and medicine", will for the first time abolish mark-up to price of

medicine in public hospitals of Shenzhen when sold to patients.

A southern Chinese city plans to pilot a program to separate the long-criticized medical system in the country that binds

doctors' income to how much medicine they sell, official media reported. The reform, the so-called "separation between

doctors and medicine", will for the first time abolish mark-up to the price of medicine in public hospitals of Shenzhen when

sold to patients, the Xinhua News Agency reported, quoting source from local authorities.

The current direct economic connections between hospitals, doctors' prescriptions and medicine sales will be cut under pilot

program, which will start in the half of this year. While cutting prices of medicine in hospitals, the reform will also raise the

value of doctors, and nurses' labor by hiking charges for consultation, the report said.

The move can help dampen hospitals' unhealthy pursuit over medicine sales, which is common in Chinese medical

institutions and has long triggered complaints over heavy burden for patients, the report said. A government-backed medical

fund will afford part of the increases in charges, and thus reducing health care costs, it added.

Similar reforms will also be carried out this year in Beijing, media reports said, with a deputy official with the hospital

authority being quoted as saying that the city was seeking experts from Hong Kong to steer the reforms.

Xinhua, 06/04/2012: 175 billion yuan health investment for poor regions

China's Ministry of Health said on Thursday that it had invested 175.4 billion yuan (27.8 billion US dollars) of special funds to

develop health care in poverty-stricken regions during the last Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010). Those five years witnessed

an average annual growth rate of 73 per cent in the funds, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

The funds had been used in strengthening health care in poor rural areas, which had benefited from 3,000 county-level

hospitals, 27,000 township hospitals and 28,000 village clinics, it added.

Meanwhile, the ministry had also put massive effort into building a long-term urban/rural and eastern/western supporting

mechanism, under which 120,000 medical experts in major hospitals were temporarily transferred to less developed regions to

offer training and service.

China has pledged to promote equal access to medical care for its citizens and significantly improve the quality and efficiency

of such services by 2015, or during its on-going 12th Five-Year Plan period.

As of the end of 2011, 128 million Chinese were covered by the government's poverty reduction program, including 13.4 per

cent of all rural residents. According to the central budget for 2012, the fund allocated to poverty relief maintains a sharp

growth, as the special fund for poverty relief reaches 37.3 billion yuan, with an increase of 18.7 per cent.

Xinhua, 17/04/2012: China to upgrade service network for work-related illnesses

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday that it will upgrade a service network for the prevention and treatment of

occupational diseases in line with a newly-amended law.

China's top legislature adopted an amendment to the Law on Occupational Illness Prevention and Control on Dec. 31, 2011

in order to better protect the legal rights of workers. The amendment specifically requires governments at all levels to

strengthen their ability to prevent and control work-related illnesses, as well as establish a comprehensive service system.


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However, 44 percent of provincial jurisdictions have yet to comply with the initiative, according to a circular published

Monday on the ministry's website. It also noted that 27 percent of prefecture-level regions lack the ability to diagnose and

verify occupational diseases, while 43 percent of all counties cannot provide adequate occupational health evaluations.

In response, the MOH called for more financial and policy support from governments at multiple levels.

The circular also addressed other issues, including China's national occupational disease monitoring system.

China currently has 120 dedicated stations across the country to monitor occupational diseases. However, the data collected

from the stations is often incomplete or untimely, said the circular.

The MOH has instructed health authorities across the country to fully utilize modern communication tools like the Internet,

text messaging and microblogs to give the public a better look at the newly-amended law.

Global Times, 19/04/2012: State Council releases medical reform plan

Chinese authorities yesterday issued a detailed medical reform blueprint, vowing to speed up the establishment of a universal

healthcare system and resolve problems in medical services such as hospitals profiteering from drugs sales.

According to the announcement issued by the State Council, the country will further expand healthcare coverage, making

sure at least 95 per cent of urban and rural residents are covered. The government will increase the health insurance subsidy

for citizens to 240 yuan ($37) per person a year, double the previous standard.

Through pilot schemes in about 300 counties, the government will push forward reform of public hospitals, including cutting

the link between doctors' incomes and the medicines that they prescribe.

The reforms also include the boosting of grass-roots level medical institutions, in which the government will help train more

general practitioners for community hospitals and clinics, so as to provide medical services to more people and alleviate the

pressure on bigger hospitals.

Yang Yansui, director of the Research Center of Employment and Social Security at Tsinghua University, said some

difficulties still need to be tackled in the medical reform.

First, it will be difficult to extend universal medical insurance to all people, as policies for villagers and city residents are very

different. Furthermore, reforms of public hospitals are also difficult as they are usually disorganized and their financial

systems are in disarray. Doctors are not well paid, and tend to over-prescribe to earn more money, overlooking patients'

interests, which results in worsening doctor-patient relations.

Early in March, a man from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region killed an intern and injured another 3 staff members in a

hospital in Heilongjiang Province. Police said the attacker was a former patient who believed the doctors refused to treat him.

"Therefore, the government should establish a new salary system for the doctors. For example, 30 percent of doctors'

incomes should be made up of government subsidies," added Yang.

South China Morning Post, 20/04/2012: Insurers to help run national medical plan

Beijing has opened the door for commercial insurers to help run a national medical insurance plan. The move is to help

ensure the efficient management of the scheme, which involves hundreds of billions of yuan annually.

Under guidelines jointly issued this week by the Health and Finance ministries and the China Insurance (SEHK: 0966)

Regulatory Commission, local governments are encouraged to enlist commercial insurers to manage the New Rural Co-

operative Medical Scheme.


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The Ministry of Health will oversee the scheme, which offers basic medical insurance to rural residents. The insurance

premium varies in each province, but it is roughly 300 yuan (HK$368) a year per resident. About 800 million Chinese are

covered by the plan.

Although insurance firms will not be offering coverage, they will be involved in managing the scheme, such as certifying

insurance claims.

On its part, Beijing has hailed this national health care scheme as a major success in its reform efforts. The work on the

reforms, which began three years ago, is expected to intensify over the next three years.

On Tuesday Vice-Premier Li Keqiang, the top official overseeing health care reforms, said the scheme had reached a critical

point. But he said more people should be included and their health care coverage should be improved.

While the state will pay insurers for their work, the money won't come from the fund itself, says Nie Chunlei, deputy director

of the Department of Rural Health Management under the health ministry.

Besides having to be certified, participating insurers must have a good network of branches, especially at the township level,

says Gong Yisheng, an official with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. "There are only about 10 insurance firms

that meet such requirements," Gong said.

In the past few years, says Nie, three insurers - China Life (SEHK: 2628, announcements, news), China Pacific Insurance and

PICC (SEHK: 2328) Health Insurance - have been involved in the scheme's pilot programme in four cities. They are Jiangyin

in Jiangsu, Jinjiang in Fujian, and Zhengzhou and Luoyang in Henan.

Nie also says that it is impossible for the state to estimate the total cost of enlisting commercial insurers in the national

scheme, as insurance needs vary across provinces.

For instance, an annual management fee of 1.2 yuan a person may be sufficient in a province, but a fee of five yuan may be

inadequate in another. Jiangyin, for example, pays a 3 million yuan lump sum in annual health care management fees, but in

Luoyang the cost is 1.2 yuan per resident.

Mao Zhengzhong, a health care economist at Sichuan University, has studied the scheme in those four cities. But he says he

sees no clear cost savings by having insurers manage the scheme rather than the government.

"There was no obvious trend of one model saving more money than the other," Mao said, citing figures harking back to

2009.

It is unclear when the pilot scheme started. However, Nie says the decision to outsource the management of the fund would

lead to greater efficiency.

"It's possible that in the first two or three years you see that the government pays more to buy the service," Nie said. "But in

the long run the cost will be lower because the cost to establish and run such a government office, including hiring civil

servants and factoring in their pensions, would be huge."

But by outsourcing the management of the national scheme, Beijing will need fewer people to regulate the insurers, ensuring

that they adhere to the terms and conditions, Nie says.


Page | 15

Xinhua, 16/05/2012: China to expand medical payment reform

China plans to expand medical payment reforms to ensure that new payment systems will be implemented throughout the

country's rural areas by 2015, Minister of Health Chen Zhu announced on Tuesday.

Chen said during a video conference that the payment systems will help control medical costs, as they will result in the

scrapping of the fee-for-service system and cap patients' total medical expenditures.

The current fee-for-service system is believed to have encouraged an excessive number of prescriptions and unnecessary

medical examinations.

Medical payment reforms will create a portfolio of payment models, including payment based on diagnosis-related groups

(DRGs), per diem payment for inpatient care and a pre-pay system for outpatient care.

In 2009, the Chinese government kicked off a new round of health care reforms, aiming to provide universal and affordable

medical services to the country's 1.3 billion people

Xinhua, 22/05/2012: Chinese health minister calls for collaboration on universal coverage of health services

Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said here on Monday that the international community is obliged to collaborate towards

common goals to achieve universal coverage of necessary health services and to overcome present difficulties together.

Chen made the remarks at the general discussion of the 65th World Health Assembly, held from May 21-26.

Noting that more than one billion people in the world do not have access to necessary health services, "the world community

therefore has a long way to go and an arduous task to accomplish," he said.

Chen called on the international community to explore ways in accordance with their respective national conditions to

improve health financing and social security systems, enhance the availability and affordability of medicines, and strengthen

solidarity and share the responsibilities.

Chen also briefed about China's health care reform since 2009, saying that the basic medical and health security system now

covers 1.295 billion people, more than 95 percent of the total population.

In particular, the basic medical security schemes for rural residents have benefited 97.5 percent of Chinese farmers, or 832

million rural population. The New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS) has become the medical security scheme

with the largest coverage in the world, Chen said.

Nearly 3,000 delegates from 194 members of the World Health Organization (WHO) attended the annual meeting.

Appointment of WHO Director-General, prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, monitoring of the United

Nations millenium development goals and WHO are on top of the agenda.

Xinhua, 22/05/2012: 1.09 mln cataracts patients cured under subsidies

More than 1 million cataracts patients in China have been cured in the past three years with the help of 872 million yuan (138

million U.S. dollars) in subsidies from the central government, according to Health Ministry figures revealed on Tuesday.

The 1.09 million patients cured outnumbered the target of 1 million set in 2009, when the Health Ministry, Finance Ministry

and China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF) jointly initiated a welfare project for cataracts sufferers.

Under the project, each patient got an 800-yuan subsidy for operation from the central government, and a sum of money,

varying in different places, from local governments.


Page | 16

Statistics from the CDPF indicate that China has 12.63 million people with visual disabilities as of the end of 2010, with

nearly 400,000 cataracts patients added annually. Cataracts remain a main disease causing blindness.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that it will strive to expand the project to cover every person with cataracts by the

end of 2020.

Global Times, 24/05/2012: Pilot to include more coverage for seniors care

A new pilot that aims to include more elderly nursing expenses in the city's social health insurance system is slated to start

before the year-end, a senior government official said yesterday during a meeting about senior healthcare reforms.

No details on the pilot, however, were released by Gao Julan, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau.

However, she said that the finance bureau and the civil affairs bureau were working together to map out specific criteria

concerning which seniors would qualify for what healthcare services.

The goal, she added, is to incorporate more nursing homes into the city's outpatient medical insurance payment scheme,

which last year included 78 nursing homes, up from 72 the previous year.

The talks yesterday were attended by local officials and policy advisors, who submitted proposals earlier this year.

The most urgent calls yesterday were directed at local authorities to add beds to seniors homes, create more recreational

centers for seniors, and to recruit more qualified staff to care for seniors.

The city's senior demographic is predicted to hit 4.3 million people by the end of 2015, accounting for roughly 30 percent of

the city's entire population, a figure that is further expected to climb by 1.3 percentage points for the next three years. It is a

phenomenon that authorities are working hard to plan ahead for, with the aim of reducing burdens on the system.

Although 262,000 seniors were treated at community care centers last year, and the number of beds for seniors in the city

increased to 102,000 by the end of last year, a 4-percent growth from the previous year, the shortage of trained staff

challenges the city from serving more patients, said Gao.

About 35,000 care providers and 34,000 care providers work at nursing homes and community care centers in the city,

respectively, but at least 50,000 more care providers are still needed.

But, due to the demanding nature of the job, along with the low pay and social status attached to the profession in Shanghai,

finding suitable new hires is not without challenges, she said.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE Global Times, 27/04/2012: Global expansion planned to promote traditional Chinese medicine

The State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Ministry of Commerce jointly announced Thursday their

plan to increase funding and preferential policies to promote traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on a global scale.

"We intend to grow the TCM trade by increasing foreign exchanges and cooperation," Wang Guoqiang, deputy director of

the administration, said yesterday at a press conference, citing that China has signed 96 government-level agreements

involving cooperation with foreign countries or institutions.

By 2015, 10 overseas institutions offering TCM services will be built as joint ventures in Southeast Asia, Europe, North

America and the Middle East. Other measures include increasing financial support for exporters, building a trade

management system and establishing a bilingual service platform.


Page | 17

TCM is now practiced in over 160 countries and regions around the world. Some countries, including Australia, Canada and

South Africa, have given legal status to its practitioners, according to the administration. However, cultural differences and

administrative barriers largely impede Chinese medicine's acceptance by the international community.

"The French government doesn't recognize the TCM degree I obtained in Beijing, so I chose to stay in China," Lokmane

Benaicha, 29, a French graduate from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, told the Global Times yesterday.

Benaicha, who hopes to open a health club targeting expatriates in Beijing, was happy for the plan and believed that TCM has

business opportunities.

The number of overseas students studying TCM represents the biggest percentage of overseas students in China, according to

the press conference. Currently, there are over 36,000 medical, educational and research institutions, 803,000 licensed

practitioners, over 35,000 higher educational faculties and over 15,000 research staff members in China's TCM industry.

Xinhua, 22/05/2012: Campaign vows to regulate TCM material market

The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has ordered a special crackdown on counterfeit materials used in

traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as well as illegal actions such as artificial dyeing and weight-increasing.

The move was announced Tuesday by the administration as part of a six-month campaign to regulate the TCM materials

market and ensure public health.

The administration has urged both regular and non-scheduled inspections for the TCM materials market as well as stricter

management over the quality of TCM products and the licenses of sellers.

The campaign will also focus on illegal practices, including using cheaper materials, dyeing materials to make them look more

appealing and artificially increasing the weight of these materials, which are usually sold by the kilogram.

According to the SFDA, violators will be warned and urged to rectify their practices. In serious cases, relevant markets will be

forced to close.

The administration also urged local drug watchdogs to set up an effective mechanism to regulate the TCM material market

once the campaign is over.

Last week, a joint proposal created by 14 government authorities was released to boost the development of TCM. The

proposal includes a five-year period to establish a TCM trade and management system and a marketing strategy that is in line

with the direction of the international market.

China will also encourage qualified TCM institutions and enterprises to set up overseas branches by establishing joint

ventures with foreign companies. Ten TCM institutions are expected to establish such branches by 2015 in Southeast Asia,

Europe, North America and the Middle East.


Page | 18

COUNTERFEIT

Global Times, 02/05/2012: Fake capsule crackdown expanded

China's food and drug safety watchdog has launched a nationwide comprehensive investigation into edible gelatin, capsule

and medicine producers and listed another 10 types of capsule drugs that contain excessive levels of chromium.

Starting yesterday, producers of pharmaceutical gelatin, capsules and capsule drugs should strictly examine each batch of raw

materials in every category before production, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said in a statement on its

website Friday.

The watchdog listed 10 types of capsule drugs produced by nine pharmaceutical companies on its website and imposed an

immediate product recall. All self-examinations and recalls must be finished before May 31.

The Ministry of Health issued a statement Monday requiring all medical institutions to stop using the capsule drugs on the

SFDA's list, and report related data on these medicines to local health and drug supervision departments.

Local drug safety supervision departments have initiated investigations into three enterprises under the Tonghua

Pharmaceutical Group, and may transfer their cases to security authorities if they are suspected of committing crimes.

The China Product Quality Association gave the country's capsule industry a CCC rating on Sunday, indicating the lack of

credibility and bad reputation in the sector.

A total of 18 edible gelatin producers were investigated after China Central Television reported half a month earlier that

commonly prescribed drugs had been packed into capsules made with industrial gelatin, and 13 batches of nine company's

products were found to contain excessive chromium.

The SFDA also examined 117 capsule producers nationwide, and 74 batches of products from 15 capsule makers were found

to contain excessive amounts of chromium.

"It is an improvement for the SFDA to launch such a comprehensive investigation of the entire production line of the

capsule drugs in such a short time," Dong Jinshi, a Beijing-based food safety expert and secretary-general of the International

Food Packaging Association, told the Global Times yesterday.

Some Internet users suggested taking the medicine powder by discarding the capsule in order to avoid being poisoned.

"The capsule prevents certain strong medicines from harming the esophagus and stomach, and should not be discarded," Ma

Hongsheng, a professor of the West China Hospital of Sichuan University, was quoted by West China City Daily as saying.

Dong said punishments against related enterprises must be very strict after the investigation is completed in order to warn all

food and drug companies.

MISCELLANEOUS Global Times, 27/03/2012: Growing number of attacks on staff show cracks in healthcare system

A black shroud has been spread over Harbin Medical University and its First Affiliated Hospital for the past few days as staff,

teachers and students mourned the death of Wang Hao, a medical intern stabbed by a patient on Friday.

This is the latest in a string of conflicts that have sprung from medical disagreements as increasingly distrustful patients resort

to violence against medical staff often believed to be focusing more on financial interests than curing their patients. A recent

Tencent poll showed the appalling truth as 19 per cent of respondents said they were happy at hearing of this tragedy.


Page | 19

A bright future ended

Wang Hao, a 28-year-old attending medical intern at the First Clinical College of Harbin Medical University, had been due to

start his doctorate at Hong Kong University in September until an 18-year-old boy, Li Mengnan, stabbed him to death. Three

other doctors were also injured as Li lashed out at random in the ward. Wang Yu, a doctor, may yet lose an eye after he was

stabbed in the face.

A statement from the hospital said Li, who suffered from spinal problems and tuberculosis, had travelled to Harbin from

Inner Mongolia with his grandfather to see the doctor. A doctor at the rheumatism department suggested Li consult another

doctor to cure his tuberculosis before his back problem could be worked on. Harbin police said that Li sought revenge after

doctors failed to give him the treatment he expected. Li attempted to commit suicide after the attack, but on-duty police at

the hospital stopped and arrested him.

The First Clinical College of Harbin Medical University remained tight-lipped about the attack, with a spokesman, Lu, only

telling the Global Times that the hospital was caring for the injured and would help Wang's family with funeral arrangements.

"The accident was a tragedy and our staff were greatly shaken," he said. "But it was not a medical dispute, as the authorities

interrogated the alleged attacker and it was a revenge crime."

The Chinese Medical Doctor Association issued a statement after the attack, urging authorities to protect the safety of

medical staff.

Scapegoat doctors

A slew of attacks on doctors and medical staff on the Chinese mainland have regularly made headlines in recent years.

According to a medical exchange platform, the country has seen three attacks on doctors since January and 10 cases last year.

Wang Baoming, a 54-year-old cancer patient, stabbed his physician 10 times with a kitchen knife at Beijing Tongren Hospital

in September, as his cancer returned despite receiving treatment at the hospital. Xu Wen, the physician, sustained severe

injuries to her back and arms.

In late January 2011, six family members of a patient stabbed 10 doctors at Xinhua Hospital in Shanghai. The patient had

died after the hospital had refused to prescribe pills to him since the family could not afford his medical bills.

Jiang Jian, deputy chief of Shanghai Shuguang Hospital, told the Global Times that patients on the Chinese mainland are

experiencing great difficulties in getting treatment.

"It is either too expensive for them to afford, or the waiting time at hospitals are too long," he said. "As doctors, we

sympathize with the patients but there is little to be done as the medical system is overloaded."

Yu Minxi, a retired heart surgeon from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, told the Global Times that doctors are overworked and

worsening relations with patients are leaving them in a difficult position.

"Doctors are dealing with a lot of pressure, as they see at least 100 patients in a five-hour shift," he said. "The hospital I

worked at gives doctors quotas to meet, including a list of expensive medications that doctors should prescribe."

Yu said he was instructed by the hospital that all patients should be advised to receive a standard blood test, which costs 15

yuan ($2.38), to make sure that the laboratory meets its monthly quota.


Page | 20

"Doctors become salesmen to sell unnecessary medical treatments and medicines," he said. "I retired at the age of 52, simply

because I could no longer bear to be an irresponsible doctor. Patients are angry at doctors as they are truly the victims. But so

are doctors under the current medical system."

Yu said doctors were being framed as being corrupt in the media when reports said that doctors received bribes from well-off

patients wanting to shorten their waiting time.

"The truth is, such practices happen," he said. "It only happens because doctors are not paid properly. Hospitals often

threaten to cut salaries when doctors cannot sell expensive drugs to patients to maintain a profit for the hospital."

A cure to medical blunders

According to media reports on Sunday, the State Council has just issued a document on healthcare reform, which proposes

an explicit road map for the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15). The document outlines that the government will pay

for equipment procured by hospitals and other expenses concerning medical research.

Zhu Tongyu, deputy director of Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital, called this an important step in relieving financial pressure

from hospitals.

"Hospitals were left to deal with their own financial expenses without much government support," he told the Global Times.

"The new medical reform has recognized it as a problem and government subsidies will help hospitals focus on patient

welfare again."

"When patients receive decent treatment from doctors, medical disputes will no longer be a ticking time bomb," Zhu said.

China Daily, 07/05/2012: Country lags in ADHD treatment

Less than 1 percent of the 20 million children in China with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are receiving proper

treatment, according to health experts, who blamed the situation on a lack of awareness, trained specialists and standard

clinical treatments.

In a typical classroom of 50 students on the mainland, two or three have the condition, said Shen Kunling, president-elect of

the Society of Pediatrics under the Chinese Medical Association.

"The negative effects of the treatable chronic condition can last much longer than people expect," he said at the launch of the

national ADHD Caring Week organized by the society and Xi'an Janssen Pharmaceuticals on Saturday.

ADHD is a developmental disorder that typically shows itself before the age of 7, and research suggests it is more common in

boys than in girls. Symptoms include a short attention span and impulsive and hyperactive behavior.

Undetected and untreated, ADHD can cause serious problems, according to the World Health Organization. Child and

adolescent patients face higher risks of school failure, substance abuse and even delinquency.

Shen estimated that, without timely intervention, some 50 to 60 percent of child patients will continue to exhibit the

symptoms well into adulthood.

About 75 percent of adults with ADHD experience mental disorders such as chronic anxiety, substance abuse and addiction,

depression, and other personality disorders. In a 2002 study of inmates in juvenile detention facilities across the United

States, researchers found about 47 percent had ADHD.


Page | 21

"Early detection and treatment helps substantially reduce the negative outcomes experienced by children living with ADHD,

which otherwise might become a life-long condition," warned Zheng Yi, vice-president of Beijing Anding Hospital.

Wang Liyu, whose 4-year-old son was diagnosed with ADHD by Zheng in February, said previously she thought the disorder

was just a school and academic issue. "But it also affected family and social relations, as no other children wanted to play with

him," she said.

Now her son is on medication and his parents have received some training in coping with the disorder, and "the symptoms

were alleviated somewhat and seemingly his self-esteem and control increased a bit", she noted.

But she still could not understand why her son had developed the condition, though she suspects that it might have been

inherited from her husband, who is also highly active.

"Studies show that ADHD is related to factors including heredity, brain development problems and environmental

pollution," said professor Jin Xingming of the Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

Internationally recognized treatment guidelines from the American Psychiatric Association suggest that medication should be

the basis for treatment of ADHD, and doctors should adhere to standardized treatments in cooperation with parents and

teachers.

Jin called for close cooperation between doctors and parents in following medication schedules, prescription adjustment and

other follow-up steps. "We've seen some parents improperly stop their child's medication" as symptoms diminished or

adverse drug reactions developed, such as decreased appetite, she said, adding that public education was important.

But she also warned of improper diagnosis of ADHD, which might result from confusing personality traits with medical

conditions.

The campaign for ADHD Caring Week will be held at 40 hospitals in 20 cities (with three rounds for each hospital) through

December, with the participation of more than 200 pediatric experts, according to the society.

It will provide free checkups, consultations and education, and it is estimated that as many as 10,000 children with ADHD

will benefit from the campaign this year, said Thad Huston, president of Xi'an Janssen Pharmaceuticals. "Each child has just

one chance to grow up."

Xinhua, 08/05/2012: Abuse of antibiotics drops in Chinese hospitals

A national campaign against the abuse of antibiotics looks to be progressing with usage notably dropping, said the Ministry of

Health on Tuesday.

An inspection over more than 430 major hospitals nationwide showed that the prescription of antibiotics accounted for 15

percent of the total prescriptions in hospitals in 2011, down from 27.8 percent in 2006, said Wang Yu, a senior official with

the ministry.

The country launched the campaign last April to curb the prevailing abuse of antibiotics, which is believed to increase

resistance and have a negative impact on people's health.

The inspection showed that the usage and frequency of the prescription of antibiotics dropped notably after the campaign,

Wang said.


Page | 22

Antibiotics were applied in about 58 percent of surgeries involving open wounds in 2011, down from 99 percent in 2006, and

were applied on less than 30 percent of hospitalized patients, down from 51.5 percent, he said.

In addition, a new regulation on the medical application of antibiotics will take effect on Aug. 1, which upgrades the

management on the purchase and applications of antibiotics in hospitals and interference in abuse.

Xinhua, 14/05/2012: China nurses increase by 66 pct in 6 years

China had a total of 2.244 million registered nurses by the end of 2011, up 66 per cent from 2005, according to a senior

official with the Ministry of Health.

"The number of nurses in our country saw the sharpest increase from 2006 to 2010, and their educational attainment,

professional skills and service methods also improved greatly," Vice Minister Ma Xiaowei said Friday at a meeting on the

country's nursing services.

The meeting was also held to mark the annual International Nurses Day, which falls on May 12.

According to Ma, nurses, which account for roughly half of all hospital staff in the country, are playing a crucial role in the

reforms of public hospitals.

Ma called for higher quality health care services for patients through strengthening training and mapping out an effective

work evaluation system for nurses.

According to a national guideline on the development of nursing services, the country aims to have roughly two registered

nurses per 1,000 persons by 2015. The ratio stood at 1.66 nurses per 1,000 persons in 2011.

(Xinhua, 14/05/2012)

Editor’s Note

In Denmark there are 14 nurses per 1,000 population. In China where the equivalent figure is 1.5.

There are only 3.4 physicians per 1,000 people in Denmark, where the Chinese figure is approximately 1.5.

The nurse-to-physician ratio is very close to 1 in China, whereas the Danish figure runs around 4.

The World Bank propose a standard of at least 2

Xinhua, 21/05/2012: China reports 260 mln patients with chronic diseases

China currently has 260 million patients with chronic diseases, and these illnesses have resulted in some 85 percent of the

country's total deaths, figures from the Ministry of Health show.

According to a 2012-2015 blueprint on chronic disease prevention and control released by the ministry on Monday, as a

result of fast urbanization and industrialization in an aging society, chronic diseases are becoming more prevalent and have

taken up some 70 percent of China's total treatment costs.

The major chronic diseases include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, virulent tumors and respiratory diseases, among others.

The blueprint, which was jointly set down by 15 government organizations, including the ministries of health and education

and the National Development and Reform Commission, set goals of reducing the adult smoking rate to below 25 percent

and promoting at least 32 percent of citizens to engage in "constant" physical exercise.


Page | 23

Meanwhile, the document plans to limit the adult obesity rate to within 12 percent and set up major cancer treatment projects

in high-prevalence areas.

According to the guideline, the government will increase budgets for treating chronic diseases and release favorable policies

to impoverished patients in underdeveloped regions. Other efforts include building more green areas and using the media to

promote healthy lifestyles.

Xinhua, 23/05/2012: China targets 20 percent reduction in leprosy by 2015

The Ministry of Health on Wednesday released a guideline targeting a reduction of 20 percent in the number of leprosy

patients by 2015 compared to 2010.

China reported about 6,700 leprosy cases in 2010, which means the total by 2020 will be limited to within 5,300, according to

the 2012-2020 national guideline on eliminating leprosy.

The document, based on a 2011 blueprint designed to see leprosy cases halved by 2020, set down detailed efforts and

additional midway goals, including an incidence rate of below one per 10,000 persons across the country by 2015.

Leprosy, an infectious disease that has afflicted mankind for over 4,000 years, is primarily characterized by skin lesions and

progressive physical disability, and can cause permanent nerve damage.

The ministry noted that the disease, outbreaks of which are increasingly frequent among the country's migrant population,

and which still has social stigma attached to it in some areas, is "still an obvious healthcare and social problem that hasn't

been relieved much" in recent years.

Stressing prevention and treatment at an early stage, the guideline urges government departments to jointly strengthen

leprosy-related knowledge in medical education and improve leprosy prevention and control systems.

A total of 500,000 cases of leprosy have been reported and treated since the founding of the People's Republic of China on

Oct. 1, 1949. More than 200,000 new cases are reported worldwide every year, with China being home to about one-tenth of

the world's infected population.

China Daily, 24/05/2012: Chinese 8.2 yrs older than chronological age

A recent report on Chinese health revealed that the average Chinese person is 8.2 years older than his or her chronological

age, a sign of poor health, Beijing Times reported Thursday.

The survey of China's property and casualty insurance company Ping An sampled people aged 15 to 64 in Beijing, Shanghai,

and Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The result showed that an overwhelming 83 percent are exposed to

unbalanced nutrition, 66 percent have irregular blood pressure, and 34 percent suffer from overstress.

The report also indicated that women outperformed men in their daily habits, psychological condition and social lives, thus

making them healthier.

Freelancers were found to be in the best physical condition, while people working in IT, advertising and the consulting

industry came in at the bottom, the report said.


Page | 24

People’s Daily, 29/05/2012: Medical instrument industry expanding 20 pct per annum

China's medical instrument industry has become a "sunrise industry," with a considerable market size of 400 billion yuan

($63.3 billion), according to a Chinese medical expert.

Moreover, it is expanding by 20 percent year-on-year, Fan Yubo, president of Chinese Society of Biomedical Engineering,

said Monday at the 2012 World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering held in Beijing.

However, Fan noted that China still relies heavily on imported high-end sophisticated medical instruments.

"Almost all the artificial knee joints and cardiac pacemakers used in this country are Western imports," Fan said.

Nonetheless, an increasingly number of mid-end ones can be produced domestically and China also exports certain products

to other countries, the expert said.

The standard of China's products such as patient monitoring and life support devices, in-vitro diagnostic instruments and

medical imaging systems are at an internationally advanced level, Fan said.

China currently has about 15,000 medical instrument manufacturers and more than 300,000 enterprises marketing of such

instruments.

The Shenzhen-based Mindray Medical International Limited, a leading medical device company in China, became publicly

listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2006.

"At present, the global market size of medical instrument industry is about 400 billion U.S. dollars and is expanding rapidly.

China still has a long way to go, especially in terms of personnel educating and training," Fan said.

The 2012 World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, themed "promoting health through technology,"

runs from May 26 to 31. It is the first time that the conference has been held in China.

"Our time will well be spent getting new knowledge, forming new hypotheses, planning new experiments, developing new

health care delivery techniques, forming and renewing friendships," said Herbert Voigt, president of International Federation

for Medical and Biological Engineering.

The congress location reflects the major advances in the recognition and promotion of research in this field in the Asian

region, and especially in China, according to Barry J Allen, president of International Union of Physical and Engineering

Sciences in Medicine.

Xinhua, 01/06/2012: Rural children face nutrition gap

A major gap exists between the nutritional status of Chinese children under 5 in rural and urban areas, according to a report

issued by the Ministry of Health on Thursday. The report also said that rural children are at greater risk of malnutrition due to

economic strains and unexpected events.

Given that the government has already introduced measures to help improve the nutrition of school-age children, the report

focuses mainly on preschoolers, said Qin Huaijin, director of the Department of Maternal and Child Health and Community

Health under the ministry.

According to the report, the prevalence of children who were underweight or had stunted growth was three to four times

higher in rural than urban areas between 1990 and 2010. The situation in impoverished rural areas was even worse, it said.


Page | 25

Regionally, children in central and western China were two to three times more likely to suffer malnutrition than children in

the east, where the overall economic situation was much better.

"Sometimes, better nutrition points to a higher chance of survival," said Yin Shi'an, a food safety and nutrition researcher at

the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

A report by the World Health Organization said that 22 percent of the deaths of children under 5 in China were attributable

to malnutrition in 2000, but that number had fallen to 13 percent by 2010. A majority of them were in the poor countryside,

Yin noted.

"The nutritional status and overall development of rural children whose parents sought employment in cities were especially

concerning," he said.

Official statistics showed that China has more than 150 million children under 5 who are left behind in rural hometowns, as

their parents are migrant workers. According to the report, they are 1.5 times more likely to be underweight or face stunted

growth than rural children with parents by their sides.

Childhood nutrition can affect lifelong health and "we hope the government would list the improvement of child nutrition as

a national strategy and integrate that into the overall national development plan to further enhance the nutrition of the

children," urged Qin.

With economic development, government measures like the China Infant and Young Child Feeding Strategies, as well as the

promotion of breastfeeding, child nutrition and physical development has greatly improved on the Chinese mainland, he said.

Also, the mortality rate for children under 5 has dropped by 73 percent since 1990, the study showed.

Huo Junsheng, director of the Food Science and Technology Department of China CDC, said the biggest nutrition problem

was deficiencies of vitamins A and D, iron, calcium and zinc, which can affect their school performance and future economic

productivity if left unaddressed.


Page | 26

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+86 (21) 6085 2009

Documents

TCC Health Team News June 2012 - Denmark in China/media/Kina/Trade Council... · TCC Health Team News – June 2012 Page | 2 Dear companies, partners, businessmen, health workers,