A Chinese official has called for improving the educations of
the country's six million medical workers as only 1.1 percent of
them have obtained a doctorate or master's degree.
At Friday's seminar to mark the 57th World Health Day, officials
from the Ministry of Health gave a gloomy picture of the country's
human resources in the medical sector.
By the end of 2005, China had 6.35 million medical workers,
including 4.46 million technical staff, 1.94 million licensed
physicians, 1.35 million registered nurses, and 920,000 medical
staff working in rural areas.
In China a licensed physician need only obtain a bachelor's
degree to treat illness.
In rural areas, especially in the underdeveloped western region,
there is a lack of professional medical workers, said Vice Minister
Chen Xiaohong, of the Ministry of Health.
In recent years, the government has taken measures to encourage
medical staff to work in the countryside and the underdeveloped
areas.
Dr. Henk Bekedam, representative of the World Health
Organization (WHO) in China, also speaking at the seminar, said
this year's theme is "Human Resources for Health", which highlights
the issues of international migration of health professionals.
Currently, there are 59 million medical workers throughout the
world, leaving a shortage of 4 million, according to WHO
figures.
(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2006)