China's National Health and Family Planning Commission has announced that over the next five years, more resources will be allocated for children's healthcare.

This plan is timely, as the recent adoption of the policy that allows all Chinese couples to have two children is expected to bring about a massive growth in child population, and the subsequent demand for more pediatricians is also expected to rise, according to Xinhua.

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The head of the commission Li Bin said at a press conference that by 2020, medical educational institutions or schools will accept an additional 30,000 students majoring in pediatrics. By that time, Li also said that a city with a permanent population of more than three million will have a dedicated hospital for children.

“We need to expand service supply on the one hand,” Li said, “and strengthen disease prevention on the other.”

The Need for a Boost in Children's Health Care

China sees a great need for a boost in the child health sector.

By the end of 2014, only 99 out of 25,860 hospitals found in the country were dedicated to children. The number of children's hospital beds found across the country also followed suit: only 5.6 percent of all hospital beds were for children.

Of certified doctors and medical practitioners, only 3.9 percent were practicing pediatricians.

In 2010, during the sixth national census, it was found that China had about 220 million children under 14. With the new policy enforced, the number of children born to Chinese couples every year is expected to rise to about 3 million annually.

The long-running one-child policy, which took effect in 1970, was abolished just last year. The new two-child policy was embraced on Jan. 1 this year.

TagsNational Health and Family Planning Commission, Li Bin, Child health care, two-child policy