Vice premier urges reform for health, family planning organs

BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Vice Premier Liu Yandong has urged concrete efforts to reform the country's health and family planning institutions following the newly-founded National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Liu made the remarks Sunday at a meeting for the commission's officials.

According to Liu, the founding of the commission is seen as an important measure to ensure people's health and improve the quality of the country's population as well as a necessary requirement to deepen administrative reform and further transform governmental functions.

Praising contributions from the country's health and family planning workers, Li urged related officials to make clear the direction, goals and key points of the reform in order to ensure the establishment and functioning of various departments under the commission.

While stressing family planning as one of the country's basic policies, Liu called for continued medical reform and an improved public health service system.

As part of a cabinet restructuring plan adopted earlier this month by the National People's Congress, the Chinese parliament, the new commission was founded as a result of the merger of the Ministry of Health and the National Population and Family Planning Commission.