Yip Presents at Maternal and Child Health Forum Marking Lancet Commission Launch

On May 28th, 2021, Professor Winnie Yip, Faculty Director of the Harvard China Health Partnership, shared her research on the progress and gaps in China’s health reform efforts at the opening session of the 2021 International Forum on Maternal and Child Health. This event helped mark the launch of The Lancet Commission on RMNCAH (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health) in China.

In her presentation, Dr. Yip highlighted the expansion of China’s social health insurance coverage to include approximately 1.4 billion people—or 96% of the population—and the impact of these reforms on improving access to basic medical care and reducing medical impoverishment. This increase in coverage enabled more people to seek out maternal and child health care and other needed services.

Despite the many accomplishments of China’s health system, more attention must be paid to addressing root causes of waste and inefficiency within the system, including the waste and inefficiency stemming from overreliance on tertiary hospitals. The country’s primary care system—an important component of maternal and child health—remains underdeveloped.

Resources:

  • The Lancet Commission on RMNCAH in China launch event information is available on the event page here.
  • The full text of The Lancet Commission on RMNCAH in China is available here.
  • The Lancet article in which Professor Winnie Yip reviews China’s health reform efforts can be found here.
  • Qiao Jie, Co-Chair of the Commission and Executive Vice President of Peking University, previously gave a talk on Maternal and Child Health in China as part of HCHP’s “China and Global Experience with COVID-19” lecture series, which is available here.