Mr Chairman,
Ladies and gentleman,
Thank you for this opportunity to participate in the launch of the Public Awareness Campaign on non-communicable disease prevention and control. We congratulate the organizers on this unique and important initiative to promote a healthy China.
And it is a timely initiative. China is undergoing rapid social transitions. The population is aging. By 2035, one in 4 people in China will be 60 years or older. Urbanization is transforming the population into city dwellers – with major changes in work, transportation, and lifestyle. People consume much more meat, eggs, dairy, and animal fats than ever before. Consumption of salt is high -- and it is increasing with higher availability of processed foods. More than 300 million people smoke cigarettes in China.
Chronic diseases already account for 83 percent of deaths and 70 percent of disabilities in China. With no major policy changes, it is projected that deaths from chronic diseases will increase in the future. And this burden of disease affects not only the elderly –but also young adults.
The majority of these deaths are attributable to a few modifiable risk factors, including salt intake and diet, exercise, and tobacco use.
Take hypertension, as an example. Some 177 million people in China have hypertension. Fewer than one in three are even aware of their condition. Two major contributors to hypertension are smoking and high use of salt. The WHO estimates that a 15 percent reduction in salt consumption -- combined with an increase in the price of tobacco, smoke-free workplaces, health warnings on cigarettes, and advertising bans – could avert 4.5 million deaths in China.
To reduce obesity, another important risk factor for chronic disease, some countries have conducted health promotion campaigns alongside regulations about food marketing and nutrition labeling. Laws, regulations, and standards are an essential part of promoting healthy diets. Other countries have developed food labeling systems to inform consumers about food content. In the United Kingdom, the government put into place a traffic-light labeling system, where a red label indicates a food product with high fat and salt content. These policies can be implemented in addition to health education campaigns, and they create an environment in which people can make informed choices about the food that they buy.
Implementing these policy and behavioural changes is not easy. It requires a multi-faceted, multi-sectoral approach. The health system itself is of course a key component of chronic disease control. Under the National Health Reform, there is a great opportunity to improve the health system and effectively address non-communicable disease conditions, including financing essential health services and medicines for chronic conditions, and providing the incentives for good quality care and referral.
Honorable Chairman,
There is so much that we can do to give people the opportunity to live healthier lives: health education and promotion, health system reform with access to quality services, and key policy changes can all enable an environment where people can easily make healthy choices.
The benefits are great. WHO estimated that the economic loss from heart disease, stroke, and diabetes in China is $558 billion between 2005 and 2015. Healthy living benefits not only individuals but the society as a whole.
The WHO congratulates CPPCC on this important initiative to improve health. With vision, commitment and leadership, we can work together to achieve better health among the Chinese people.
Thank you.