2. Notable Improvement in Health
Prioritizing people's health in its development strategy, China makes all-out efforts to build a healthy China, with women's and children's health the cornerstone of this work. By consolidating and improving institutional arrangements and optimizing resource allocation, the country provides women with full life-circle health services.
Continuous improvement of the maternal and child healthcare system. China has integrated its maternal and child healthcare network into its national medical and healthcare framework that covers its 1.4 billion people. A service system for maternal and child healthcare has been built, with maternal and child healthcare institutions as the core, community-level medical and healthcare institutions as the foundation, and medium and large hospitals and research institutes as the pillars.
From 2012 to 2023, the number of health professionals at maternal and child healthcare institutions increased from 277,000 to 537,000, with an annual growth rate of over 6 percent; the actual number of beds rose from 187,000 to 295,000, up by nearly 60 percent. At present, China has 3,081 maternal and child healthcare institutions, 3,491 treatment centers for high-risk and critically ill pregnant and postpartum women, and 3,221 treatment centers for critically ill neonates. More than 2,600 traditional Chinese medicine hospitals at Grade II and above have gynecological departments.
The "internet plus maternal and child healthcare" service model has been developed, and training sessions and guidance for treating pregnant and postpartum women in severe and critical conditions have been provided through 31 provincial-level "cloud-based maternal and child healthcare" telemedicine platforms, making maternal and child healthcare services much more equitable.
Breakthroughs in solving key issues in women's health. China has strengthened its resource coordination to integrate the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B into major public health service programs. In 2024, the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission in China fell to 1.2 percent, meeting the targets for eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission.
China has promoted the comprehensive prevention and treatment of cervical cancer and breast cancer. Between 2009 and 2024, 342 million free screenings for cervical cancer and 245 million free screenings for breast cancer were carried out nationwide, and between 2012 and 2024, the central government allocated RMB3.01 billion for treatment and support for women with these forms of cancer. HPV vaccination has been incorporated into the government's public welfare initiatives in 18 provinces as of June 2025, benefiting 5 million girls of eligible age annually through free vaccination programs.
A group of specialty branches and outpatient departments focusing on women's healthcare have been established, covering the entire process of childbearing and women's full life cycle.
A reproductive health promotion campaign has been carried out. By the end of 2024, youth health education services had been provided in more than 10,000 elementary and high schools and more than 1,000 higher education institutions across the country.
The campaign to raise national health awareness, the initiative to build healthy families, the Healthy China: Mother's Action, and other initiatives have been rolled out to guide women to lead their family members and the wider society in raising health awareness and health management capacity.
Remarkable improvement in women's health. In 2020, the average life expectancy of women in China rose to 80.9 years.
Since 2012, the national hospital delivery rate has remained above 99 percent, and in 2024, the systematic maternal management rate reached 94.9 percent. The maternal mortality rate has dropped by 76.9 percent, from 61.9 per 100,000 in 1995 to 14.3 per 100,000 in 2024 – far below the global average.
In terms of core maternal and child health indicators, namely maternal, infant, and under-five mortality rates, China ranks among the top in global upper-middle-income countries. It has met the relevant targets of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ahead of schedule and has been recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the 10 high performing countries in maternal and child health outcomes.
(Source: SCIO White Paper China's Achievements in Women's Well-Rounded Development in the New Era)
Editor: Cui Rui
