Study highlights China's deadly urban-rural divide

Children born in rural China are up to six times more likely to die before the age of five than those in big cities .

The study, published in the Lancet journal, highlighted the gulf in healthcare for the rich and poor, Reuters reported.

Researchers searched public databases containing information from 1990 to 2008, including 206 long-term studies on causes of death in children under 5.

Child mortality rates plunged from 64.6 to 18.5 per 1,000 live births from 1990 to 2008, but the disparity between children's health in cities compared with the poor countryside remained stark.

The leading causes of death in children under five were pneumonia, birth asphyxia, and pre-term birth complications.

Under the Chinese household registration system, hundreds of millions of migrants from the countryside are unable to obtain residency status that would give them access to healthcare, education or legal protection in the cities where they settle.

The government says it has been working to address this inequity since 2003, introducing a modest healthcare insurance system it hopes will help the poorest meet basic medical needs.

Last year Beijing pledged US$123 (NZ$174.83) billion over three years to provide universal and affordable healthcare for its 1.3 billion people.


- NZHERALD STAFF