Newborn disease screening programs cross 98 percent last year

China has made substantial progress in pre-pregnancy and prenatal screenings, as well as disability prevention initiatives over the past decade, official figures have shown.

During a news conference held on Wednesday ahead of the National Disability Prevention Day on Aug 25, Li Dachuan, deputy director of the National Health Commission's Department of Medical Administration, said the national premarital examination rate reached 76.5 percent last year.

That was a huge progress from the 2.5 percent in 2005 and 41 percent in 2011, according to the official figures.

He told the news conference in Beijing that the national pre-pregnancy checkup rate has long maintained over 90 percent and prenatal screening rate was 90.3 percent last year, up from about 30 percent in 2012.

Li said a comprehensive newborn disease screening program encompassing screenings for hearing impairment and two genetic disorders — congenital hypothyroidism (condition of having underactive thyroid gland) and diabetes mellitus with complications — have also been rolled out successfully.

"The rate of screenings crossed 98 percent nationwide last year," Li said.

Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), about 45,000 underprivileged children afflicted with congenital structural deformities, nutritional metabolic diseases and functional impairments have received financial aid totaling 540 million yuan ($75 million).

Besides, the cataract surgeries performed for every million Chinese has increased from 2,703 in 2021 to 3,243 last year.

The improvements underline the nation's broader initiatives to enhance the health of the population in response to the rapidly aging population and declining birthrates.

Figures from the National Health Commission also showed that the older people aged 60 and above will surpass 300 million, or 20 percent of the total population, before 2025.

Around 2035, the age group is projected to exceed 400 million, comprising over 30 percent of the entire population.

In comparison, data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the number of newborns dropped below 10 million for the first time since 1950 in 2022 and dipped below 8 million last year.