Public health is not just the domain of the health department, said Hu Yonghua, director of the institute of public health at Beijing University who has formed a research team to investigate the mysterious SARS disease.

Hu said the team aims to analyze the lessons learned from the perspective of China's public health system as a result of the onslaught of the disease.

"This is the first time the infectious disease breaks out and we know nothing about its causative agent and transmission method and the susceptible population," he said.

Hu Linlin, a researcher on China's national situation at the prestigious Qinghua University, said it is the government that is responsible for epidemic control and prevention and the women and children's health care.

However, said Cai Renhua, director of the National Health Economics Institute under the Ministry of Health, the proportion for public health in the national budget has decreased year by year though the actual amount has been rising over the past decade.

This resulted in a shortage of an emergency system in the country's public health system, he said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that China spent 5.3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on sanitation and medical sectors in 2000, slightly higher than the 5-percent floor set by the World Health Organization (WHO), but much lower than in developed countries.

The shortage of funds has limited the development of basic health care services meant for all Chinese, said Hu Linlin.

The same criticism came from WHO representative in China Henk Bekedam, who said, following the SARS breakout, that China's investment in its public health system had long been inadequate.

To combat the SARS epidemic, the Chinese government has adopted emergency measures in response to the criticism and suggestions, including the allocation of 2 billion yuan (US$242 million) to set up a special fund for the treatment of SARS.

The State Council, China's cabinet, decided to establish a mechanism for emergency public health incidents and to set up a disease prevention and control network at provincial, city and county levels nationwide within this year. Some 3.5 billion yuan (US$423 million) from the central budget will be used for these projects.

Analyst Hu Angang has suggested that the government at all levels should increase public health spending with a special focus on the vast rural areas and on sanitation agencies at the grass-roots level.

Cai Renhua highlighted the importance of disease prevention, saying "good prevention work is better than the huge costs of a more serious situation." Hu Yonghua emphasized the authority of the disease prevention and control agencies.

Analysts here said that the experts' suggestions and the government's measures indicate that the improvement of the public health system has become a priority for policy-makers and for society.

Bekedam said, during an interview with Xinhua, that through continuous efforts, China's public health system will be capable of handling the challenges in this field in about three to four years.

(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2003)