Recently, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) allocated 9.396 billion yuan (US$1.23 billion) for new rural cooperative medical allowance. The money will be distributed to 23 provinces, 19 in central and west China, and four in the east.

The pilot project for a new rural cooperative medical service system was started in early 2003, and it had covered 40 percent of rural areas in China by the end of last year. The State Council has set an ambitious goal of increasing coverage to 80 percent this year.

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As more and more farmers participate in the medical insurance scheme, the MOF signed off the budget and included those small cities and towns whose rural populations are more than 50 percent.

Based on the standard of three to four yuan per capita, the central government paid 1.033 billion yuan (US$135.54 million) to support the communities' public health scheme in cities in 22 of China's central and western provinces. This expense will be used for the prevention and control of infectious diseases, healthcare for women, infants and seniors, and public health education.

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