Recently, the research team led by Professor Jun Zhu and Professor Juan Liang from the National Maternal and Child Health Monitoring Office of West China Second University Hospital, has published a paper titled "Maternal mortality ratios in 2852 Chinese Counties, 1996-2015: Achievement of Millennium Development Goal 5 in China: a subnational analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 " in theLancet(JIF: 53.254). This is the second time Professor Jun Zhu has published in the Lancet with West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University as the first work unit in his research paper. He published his first paper in 2015.
Based on the maternal and child health data which has been collected for over 20 years, and relevant data from social economy and culture at a county level, the research team has made the first estimation in 2,852 Chinese counties between 1996-2015 regarding the maternal mortality ratios and its change trend by means of big data mining technique, systematically assessed the process and fairness of various districts and 25 ethnic minority areas to achieve the goal of millennium development 5 (MDG5). The research results provide a targeted intervention roadmap for the government to continuously reduce maternal mortality in the era of sustainable development goals. The study has found that 99.8 % of China's districts and counties meet the annual average decline rate (5.5 percent), which is needed to meet the millennium development goal of 5. China has achieved rapid reductions in maternal mortality in economically underdeveloped regions with limited resources, which provides an excellent example for countries with a high incidence of maternal mortality to reach the sustainable development goals by 2030. The study also points out that China still faces challenges in achieving sustainable development goals in all districts and counties. Improving access and quality of medical care in rural areas, providing more education and trained midwives are important measures to upgrade China’s maternal health in the coming decades.
The partner of the study is a research team led by Christopher j. l. Murray, a renowned professor at the IHME Institute of the University of Washington.
Article link: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31712-4/fulltext
