As the Communist Party of China is celebrating its 100 magnificent years, health progress in China has been significantly advanced as a result of the party’s foresighted leadership and understanding of science and innovation.

 

Amid global pandemic with China at the front line of the Covid-19, the world has witnessed how efficiently and quickly the country overpowered “once-in-a-century pathogen”. This far-sight and early response to the pandemic is a result of China’s overall comprehensive health reforms, including the latest “Healthy China 2030” announced in 2016. This complete vision has five main goals: create a perfect health care system; increase the capacity of the health service; expand the outreach of the health industry; build capacity to control the health risk factors; provide health care across the country. Four implementation principles are significant in implementing this new vision of a healthy and prosperous China, which are 'scientific development', ‘health is the priority', 'reform and innovation in health industry', and 'build strong linkages between the government and markets'.  

 

Health reforms in China are not new since the inception of modern China, and health has remained the important priority area of intervention. As a result of the strong engagement of CPC in the entire process, the efforts have been recognized by the nation and the global health agencies including World Health Organization. CPC is also reaching out to the world to share the health care built at home. 

  

CPC has made concerted efforts in helping to improve health care by providing near-universal health and medical care coverage. Several important systems and reforms were introduced by the main Health Commission about ensuring the protection of the employers, workers, and people in need in the health system. The local governments and central governments work in synchronization to mobilize financial and political resources to implement the reforms plans. The entire mantra for the reforms and opening up was about not leaving anyone behind in the process of development.

 

During the reform and opening-up period, China has effectively used and implemented a wide-range health reform system that contains strengthening the capacity of the primary health care workers, building new infrastructures, and improving the pharma policies and industrial growth in the country. By controlling infectious disease, life expectancy has been doubled in China.

 

When the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949 there were limited numbers of medical and health care workers. During those days, the early government had encouraged people to learn basic health care and nursing skills. In those times farmers working in rice fields used to act as doctors, who were famously called“barefoot” for offering medical care while working in fields barefoot. Later in the1970s, China witnessed a substantial health care services growth owing to the CPC’s focused attention towards the life of individuals. The major step forward in creating the transformation of the health systems began in 1996 and later health remained a high priority in China’s five-year plans.

 

China’s experience in coping with infectious diseases has also led to testing its emergency health response mechanism for curbing the pandemic right at the spot. The world has witnessed how remarkable the CPC leadership and the government machinery worked tirelessly to help communities remain safe. Despite being a large country with a huge population, China with its central command led to take key strategic decisions with the leadership at the top supported by the local governments. The activism, services, sacrifice, and heroic work are what history will remember.

 

There were innovations and new experiments done to remove all bottlenecks to increase the swift actions. In the time of crises like pandemics or any catastrophes requires effective command chain that works without friction or any slowdown. In China at the onset of  COVID-19, the Central Leading Group for Covid-19 Prevention and Control (CLG) was established to effectively take the decisions through an efficient mechanism. This CLG has senior CPC leadership as its members, with State Council led by Premiere. Another important structure was the Central Steering Group for COVID-19 Prevention and Control (CSG). Through effective methods, China’s leadership moved the bureaucracy, mobilized resources, and helped communities curb the outbreak.