CHINA’S maternal and infant mortality rates both dropped to historic lows in 2022, according to data from the National Health Commission released Tuesday.

The country’s maternal death rate dropped from 43.2 per 100,000 in 2002 to 15.7 per 100,000 in 2022, while infant mortality declined from 37.6 per 1,000 in the early days of reform and opening up to 4.9 per 1,000 last year, official figures show.

The mortality rate of children under 5 fell to 6.8 per 1,000 in 2022, marking another record low, according to the commission.

The World Health Organization considers average life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality rates as the main indicators of the health level of a country’s people.

China aims to reduce the maternal mortality rate to under 12 per 100,000 and the mortality rate of children under 5 to less than 6 per 1,000 by 2030, said Song Li, head of the commission’s department of maternal and child health.

(Xinhua)