Another 800 million yuan (US$96.7 million) will be invested in the construction of disease control and prevention institutes in cities and townships in the western region of the country, according to Minister of Health Zhang Wenkang.

Investment will be used to carry out monitoring and research of epidemic and endemic diseases and the quest for intervention techniques.

Statistics from the ministry showed that 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have so far set up centers for disease control and prevention. Medical reform is underway in one-third of cities and one-fifth of townships in the country.

But China's disease-prevention system has not improved sufficiently to fight the various diseases and health problems brought by industrialization, urbanization and the ageing of the population, Zhang said yesterday at a national health conference in Hangzhou.

China will make further efforts to structurally reform and highlight the role of hygiene supervision and disease prevention and control, said Zhang.

Zhang said system reforms of the two sectors - hygiene supervision and disease control and prevention - which began in 2000, have made notable progress in conjunction with the shakeup of the functional authority of the ministry.

Division of the two sectors will ensure that health supervision is carried out in an impartial way.

It will also clarify the service function of disease control and prevention institutes, the minister said.

A total of 25 specialized hygiene supervision institutes at provincial level have been put into operation so far, while more than half of cities and one-fourth of townships throughout the country are carrying out reforms on their outdated health supervision system.

The minister called for health watchdogs to gradually streamline the time-consuming administrative approval system and enhance regular inspection.

(China Daily October 24, 2002)