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Global commitments and China’s endeavors to promote health and achieve sustainable development goals
Tan, Xiaodong; Wu, Qian & Shao, Haiyan
Abstract
Background: With its immense population and as the largest developing country in the world, China has made
remarkable achievements in health promotion at a relatively low cost. However, China is still faced with challenges
such as changes of disease spectrum, the coming era of an aging society, and the risk of environmental pollution.
Main text: On October 25, 2016, China formally passed the blueprint of “Healthy China 2030,” working towards the
national goal of reaching a health standard on par with developed countries by 2030, which was also a response to
realize the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. “Healthy China 2030” is comprised of 29 chapters
that cover five health areas. China is sparing no effort to transfer from being merely the most populous country, to
becoming a leading nation in health education. In “Healthy China 2030,” collaborated construction and resource
sharing were clearly stated as the core strategy. A shift in concentration towards coordinated development of
health-based economy from a previous pursuit of rapid economic growth was also underlined. There are also
several major issues, such as severely aging population, the burden of chronic diseases, the insufficiency of health
expenditure, and the great demand on health protection, waiting to be dealt with during the implementation
process of “Healthy China 2030”.
Conclusions: “Healthy China 2030” is a momentous move to enhance public health, which is also a response to
the global commitments. We also need to rethink our approach to reach the living standards and maintain a better
environment.
Keywords
Healthy China 2030; Sustainable development goals; Burden of chronic diseases; Health expenditure; Health insurance
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