China's new health department: progress and priorities

Abstract

One of the major changes in China’s cabinet reshuffl e in March, 2013, was the establishment of a new health department—the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), which merged the Ministry of Health and the National Population and Family Planning Commission. According to the Chinese Government, the change was “aimed at better upholding the basic national family planning policy, improving medical and health-care services, and deepening institutional reform in the medical care and public health sectors”. Li Bin, the former governor of Anhui province in east China, was appointed minister of NHFPC. She has a rich background in both health and national family planning aff airs, having worked in the National Population and Family Planning Commission from 2008 to 2011, fi rst as deputy minister, then as minister. Before that, Li Bin was in charge of health, social security, and labour as deputy governor of Jilin, from 2001 to 2007. Today, she is perhaps the most influential minister of health in the world, taking up the tough responsibility of safeguarding the health of more than 1·3 billion people. However, navigating a new, huge, and high-level health authority is by no means an easy task, particularly when China’s health-care reform is entering a crucial stage. China is also dealing with mounting health issues such as a rapid shift in disease burden, increasing medical costs, and rising public expectations of health-care performance. In June, The Lancet visited Li Bin at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing and spoke to her about the work of NHFPC, the challenges it faces, and its future directions. Five areas of progress To improve the health of the Chinese population, the key priorities of NHFPC’s overarching strategy are to deepen health-care reform and regulate and improve family planning policy. Additionally, the strategy includes pushing forward public