China urges better treatment for children with blood disease, cancers

National Health Commission (NHC) has urged efforts to ensure that children with blood disease and malignant tumors could receive timely and sufficient treatment and assistance.

It is a major task to ensure treatment of pediatric blood disorders and malignant tumors, which severely threaten children's health, said Wang Hesheng, deputy head of the NHC, at a nationwide teleconference.

According to a circular issued by the NHC and four other governmental departments, the initiative will preliminarily include 10 diseases that have a high incidence rate, can be effectively treated, but may cost a lot.

A network of designated hospitals will be established to improve the diagnosis and treatment of the diseases, with patients to be treated at the municipal and provincial-level hospitals.

The circular also requires work to be done to upgrade policies related to medicine supply and medical insurance to improve healthcare, simplify reimbursement procedures and ease the burden on the families of patients.