-Comrade Wu Jinyu, former Minister of Health of the 32nd Division of the Army, delivered a special speech at the 3/kloc-0 anniversary conference commemorating the death of the great leader Mao Zedong.
I am an old soldier and joined the army in the middle of the liberation war. At that time, I was fourteen years old, engaged in military health work all my life, always loved medical and health work, and was proud of the brilliant achievements made in China's medical and health undertakings in the Mao Zedong era. At today's conference commemorating the 3rd/Kloc-0th anniversary of Chairman Mao's death, I will make a retrospective speech on the topic of "Brilliance of China's medical and health undertakings in Mao Zedong era", and also as a memory of the great man.
First, the brilliant achievements of China's medical and health undertakings in the Mao Zedong era
In my opinion, there are three main criteria to judge the medical and health undertakings of a country, a society or a certain period of this society: first, the incidence of social groups, especially the rise and fall of epidemics and infectious diseases; Second, most people in this society are sick, can they get timely and effective treatment; Third, whether the national physique is strengthened or weakened, and whether the average life expectancy is improved or reduced. Undoubtedly, the new China Mao Zedong era has made remarkable achievements and progress in these three aspects.
1, quickly eliminated or controlled epidemics and infectious diseases that seriously threatened people's health.
Take the following seven diseases as examples: First, the plague, 1772- 1949 177, occurred 200 times in Yunnan Province, affecting 88 counties and killing millions; After liberation, the plague epidemic was completely controlled at 1964 through mass prevention and treatment. The second type is cholera, which was introduced from India to Yunnan in 192 1 year. There were only two pandemics from 1939 to 1942 (the first epidemic affected 26 counties, cities and towns, and the second epidemic affected 64 counties, cities and towns). According to incomplete statistics, the mortality rates of the two pandemics were 5 1% respectively. 1957 The condition was completely controlled. The third is smallpox, which was a widely spread infectious disease before liberation. The infected people either died or left a "pockmarked face"; By 1960, the last case of smallpox occurred in Yongxizhai, Ximeng County, Yunnan Province. This is not only the last case in Yunnan Province, but also the time and place when China reported the eradication of smallpox to the World Health Organization. The fourth is schistosomiasis. According to the statistics in the early 1950s, there are as many as 12 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, covering an area of more than 2 million square kilometers. More than 1 100 million people are threatened by this disease, and 654.38+0.2 million people are infected with this disease, many of whom have lost their labor force. 1in the winter of 955, Chairman Mao called for "the eradication of schistosomiasis" and changed the original plan of eliminating schistosomiasis from 15 to 7 years. As a result, schistosomiasis was completely eliminated in yujiang county County, Jiangxi Province, where the epidemic was the most serious. When Chairman Mao saw the report in People's Daily, he was so excited that he stayed up all night. He happily wrote the immortal poem "Send God to Warm His Temperament" in two lines. Fifth, malaria is a national epidemic. Yunnan province is a high incidence area of malaria. When our army entered the frontier of Yunnan, many villages died or fled because of malaria epidemic, and the incidence of malaria in many general soldiers was nearly 100%. At that time, the Southwest Military Region quickly set up an anti-malaria brigade. With the close cooperation of the local military and civilians, after two or three years of fighting, this vicious epidemic has been controlled and created a historical miracle. Sixth, sexually transmitted diseases, the social bad habits of prostitution and whoring before liberation, led to the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in this group of people. According to incomplete statistics in the early days of liberation, the number of STD patients in China exceeded one million; Shortly after the founding of New China, severe measures were taken to close brothels, and a large number of prostitutes were liberated, patients were cured and normal jobs were arranged for them. Seventh, before liberation, the incidence and mortality of tuberculosis (commonly known as consumption) were relatively high in both urban and rural areas; Since the founding of New China, its incidence rate has been decreasing year by year, and it has been basically controlled.
2. Medical care for most people in urban and rural areas is basically guaranteed.
After the founding of New China, the urban employment rate was very high, and unemployment was basically eliminated; After the "land reform", the vast rural farmers were assigned land and soon embarked on the road of agricultural cooperation and collectivization. Shortly after the founding of New China, the national cadres and workers in the city implemented the system of public medical care, and they did not have to pay for their own illness, whether they were out-patient or in hospital. Their family members and minor children enjoy semi-free medical care (that is, they get the certificate of free medical care), and they no longer pay for the disease regardless of outpatient or hospitalization. In the early 1960s, Chairman Mao found that the medical and health work in China was "more important than the city" and "less important than the countryside", so he severely criticized the Ministry of Health as "the Ministry of Health in the city" and "the Ministry of Health in the city" and demanded that the focus of medical and health work should be on the countryside. This is the famous "6.26" instruction. Under the call and encouragement of the "6.26 instruction", medical personnel inside and outside the military set off an upsurge in rural areas in batches and stages; At the same time, rural cooperative medical care (according to the statistics at the end of 1969, 95% of farmers participated in cooperative medical care) was launched, and barefoot doctors were vigorously trained (almost every village in China has two or three barefoot doctors who take part in farm work while treating diseases). So as to fundamentally solve the medical problems of farmers. The World United Nations Health Organization (WHO) spoke highly of this, becoming a model for developing countries and promoting it all over the world.
3. National constitution and life expectancy.
In old China, due to the cruel oppression of the "three mountains", many working people lived a life of hunger, cold, poverty and illness. Known as the "sick man of East Asia". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the basic life was guaranteed because the working people turned over and became masters of their own affairs. Not only did they get less sick, but they also got timely treatment. Coupled with Chairman Mao's call for "developing sports and enhancing the physical fitness of the whole people", most people's physical fitness has been significantly enhanced, and they have since got rid of the label of "the sick man of East Asia". Since 1950, the average life expectancy of China people has increased by more than 20 years, with the average life expectancy of men being 69 years and that of women being 7 1 year. In addition, we should pay special attention to infant mortality. Before liberation, the infant mortality rate was very high, and more than half of the babies born to many working women in rural areas died. After liberation, the infant mortality rate dropped sharply and dropped to zero in many areas.
Second, brilliant achievements come from the correct line and health work policy.
President Mao Zedong told us "why the human problem is a fundamental and principled problem". "Serving the people wholeheartedly" is the only purpose of our party; In terms of medical and health work, it always faces most people. Chairman Mao has always attached great importance to people's health, and the earliest inscription of health work is "All for people's health". The article "Changgang Township Survey" emphasizes that "it is the responsibility of every township Soviet to reduce or even eliminate diseases"; During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, the inscription in memory of Comrade Bethune was "Saving the wounded and rescuing the dying, implementing revolutionary humanitarianism", and the inscription of Yan 'an Health Exhibition was "Serving all the soldiers and civilians". The first policy of health work in new China is "facing the workers, peasants and soldiers". 1On June 26th, 965, Chairman Mao's brilliant instruction of "focusing medical and health work on rural areas" further clarified the direction of China's health work. It can be seen that the fundamental reason why China's health work has made brilliant achievements after the founding of the People's Republic of China is that Chairman Mao has formulated the correct line of "serving the majority of people" for China's medical and health work. The vast number of medical and health personnel inside and outside our army have clearly defined the direction of progress because of conscientiously implementing Chairman Mao's health work line, thus achieving brilliant results. Principles and policies are the concrete manifestation of the line. 1954, under the cordial care and guidance of chairman Mao, the health policy of "facing workers, peasants and soldiers, giving priority to prevention, combining traditional Chinese and western medicine, and combining health work with mass movements" is the correct policy for us to thoroughly implement chairman Mao's revolutionary health line.
The first policy is "facing the workers, peasants and soldiers", which is determined by the purpose of our party and China's socialist system, and warns us never to forget and deviate from this direction in our work. The second is "prevention first", which is the concrete application of Chairman Mao's military thought of "taking the initiative to attack" in China's health field, and it is also determined by China's advanced socialist system, because prevention is an active attack on diseases and benefits most people. Article 3 "Combination of Chinese and Western Medicine" This is based on the fact that traditional medicine and modern medicine imported from the west coexist in China, because Chinese medicine and western medicine belong to two different medical systems, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Combining these two medicines can better play their respective roles and be more conducive to people's health. Article 4 "The combination of health work and mass movement" is the embodiment and application of Chairman Mao's mass line in China's medical and health field, and it is also an important factor for China's health work to achieve remarkable results. The patriotic health movement centered on "eliminating the four pests" is a vivid embodiment of effectively implementing this policy. In addition, Chairman Mao also attached great importance to training and improving the political and professional quality of health personnel, and he emphasized that "doctors must have political direction". In a related report, he instructed: "Most of the students trained from old schools can be combined with workers, peasants and soldiers, and some of them have made inventions. However, under the leadership of the correct line, workers, peasants and soldiers should re-educate them and completely transform their old ideas. " Here I would like to mention in particular that Chairman Mao set a shining example for our medical staff as early as the early days of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, that is, Comrade Bethune, a great internationalist fighter. He asked our medical staff to learn from Bethune's "extreme responsibility for work, extreme enthusiasm for comrades and people" and "superb technology". In the era of Mao Zedong, almost all medical staff took Bethune as an example, and Bethune-style advanced medical workers appeared inside and outside the army. Obviously, in the new era of China and Mao Zedong, due to the earnest implementation of Chairman Mao's revolutionary health line and the four principles of China's health work, China's medical and health undertakings have made extremely brilliant achievements.
Thirdly, the current medical and health situation in China is worrying.
In recent years, a series of changes in China's medical and health field are really worrying: First, many epidemics and infectious diseases that have been eliminated or controlled have resurfaced, and the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases has risen sharply. The incidence of schistosomiasis, malaria and tuberculosis has increased significantly in many areas. Second, not only the "vulnerable groups", but also a considerable number of people "have no money to see a doctor" or "cannot afford to see a doctor". People call it one of the new "three big mountains" (medical care, education and housing). The Ministry of Health promotes the commercialization and marketization of medical care, and the concept of "profit" has become strong and the concept of "service" has become indifferent in many hospitals. Third, the national physique has declined, and the proportion of "obesity" among teenagers, middle-aged people and teenagers and children has risen sharply, followed by the increasing number of "three highs" (hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia) and "fatty liver"; The "myopia rate" has increased at an unprecedented rate. First, China's current medical and health work "deviates" from Chairman Mao's revolutionary health line; Second, the "four principles" of health work in China have been "forgotten", "distorted" or "abandoned"; Third, many medical staff lack "medical ethics", which has tarnished the reputation of "angels in white".
Smallpox, cholera, plague, malaria