Infant deaths in China have sharply declined as a result of the government's effort to promote hospital births, according to a recent report in the medical journal the Lancet.

　　根據(jù)英國醫(yī)學(xué)雜志《柳葉刀》（Lancet）最近發(fā)布的一份報(bào)告，由于政府提倡到醫(yī)院分娩的措施取得成效，中國嬰兒死亡率出現(xiàn)大幅下降。

　　Newborn deaths in China dropped 62% from 1996 to 2008, the study said. Researchers analyzed infant mortality cases across 37 urban regions and 79 rural counties, looking at the cause of newborn death, place of birth and socioeconomic factors.

　　這份研究報(bào)告說，1996年到2008年，中國的新生兒死亡率下降了62%。研究人員對37個(gè)城市和79個(gè)農(nóng)村縣級地區(qū)的嬰兒死亡案例進(jìn)行了分析，考察新生兒死亡的原因、出生地點(diǎn)和社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)因素。

　　Researchers from Peking University and the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London attribute the decrease in deaths to the higher number of women who are opting to deliver their babies in hospitals rather than at home.

　　北京大學(xué)和倫敦大學(xué)衛(wèi)生與熱帶醫(yī)學(xué)學(xué)院（School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London）的研究員認(rèn)為，死亡率降低的原因是選擇在醫(yī)院而不是在家分娩的女性人數(shù)增多。

　　The driving force behind the shift isn't China's growing wealth, though personal disposable income for the average Chinese citizen has grown significantly over the past few decades. Instead it's the Chinese government.

　　雖然中國居民人均可支配收入幾十年來取得了大幅增長，但上述變化并非源于中國財(cái)富的日益增長，而在于中國政府。

　　China's Ministry of Health launched a nationwide initiative to promote hospital deliveries in the year 2000, an effort encouraged by the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. The primary focus of the campaign was to improve infant mortality rates in rural regions, so the Ministry created a subsidy to help rural residents make the trek to hospitals for births. Nearly 9 million rural pregnant women received such subsidies in 2010, according to official data.

　　在聯(lián)合國千年發(fā)展目標(biāo)的推動(dòng)下，中國衛(wèi)生部于2000年啟動(dòng)了一項(xiàng)鼓勵(lì)孕婦到醫(yī)院分娩的全國性動(dòng)議。該運(yùn)動(dòng)的主要重點(diǎn)是降低農(nóng)村地區(qū)的嬰兒死亡率，因此衛(wèi)生部提供補(bǔ)助來鼓勵(lì)農(nóng)村居民前往醫(yī)院分娩。據(jù)官方數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2010年有近900萬農(nóng)村孕婦拿到了補(bǔ)貼。

　　China's infant mortality rate in 2011 is projected to be16.06 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook. That number puts China at 112th on the list of countries with the worst infant mortality rates. The worst, at number 1, is Angola, where 175.9 babies of every 1,000 born die, while the U.S. ranks 176th with 6.06 fatalities per 1,000 live births.

　　據(jù)美國中央情報(bào)局（U.S. Central Intelligence Agency）發(fā)布的《世界概況》（World Factbook）顯示，中國2011年的嬰兒死亡率將達(dá)到千分之16.06。這使得中國在嬰兒死亡率由高到低的排名中位列第112。嬰兒死亡率最高的是安哥拉，死亡率為千分之175.9，而美國以千分之6.06排名第176位。

　　Attention to improving the health of Chinese citizens has heightened in recent years, as evidenced by China's plan to restructure the country's health-care system and to provide for all people affordable access to hospital care, medical treatment, and pharmaceuticals. In 2009, Chinese leaders pledged 850 billion yuan ($133 billion) over three years for a measure to offer basic medical insurance coverage for 90% of its 1.3 billion people.

　　近幾年中國加強(qiáng)了對改善公民健康的關(guān)注，具體表現(xiàn)是推出改革醫(yī)療系統(tǒng)并為全民提供負(fù)擔(dān)得起的住院、治療和藥物的計(jì)劃。2009年，中國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人承諾在三年內(nèi)投資8,500億元實(shí)現(xiàn)基本醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)覆蓋90%公民的目標(biāo)。中國共有13億人口。

　　In March, the government also pledged more funding to increase the number of county, township and village health networks. China has around 20,000 public and private hospitals, but there are still too few in smaller towns and rural regions. Officials have been encouraging nongovernment organizations and foreign investors to open private practices in underserved areas to help improve access to health care.

　　3月，中國政府還承諾會(huì)撥出更多資金擴(kuò)大縣級、鎮(zhèn)級和村級的醫(yī)療網(wǎng)絡(luò)。中國約有2萬家公立和私立醫(yī)院，但較小鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)和農(nóng)村地區(qū)的醫(yī)院數(shù)量依然嚴(yán)重不足。政府一直在鼓勵(lì)非政府組織和外國投資者在服務(wù)水平低下的地區(qū)開設(shè)私人診所，以幫助改善當(dāng)?shù)蒯t(yī)療。

　　Research suggests there's still a long way to go. According to a report from the World Bank published in February, urban residents have more access to specialty hospitals, university research centers, and more-experienced doctors, while rural citizens face subpar treatment and are often prescribed an 'irrational' array of drugs.

　　研究表明中國在這方面依然任重道遠(yuǎn)。根據(jù)世界銀行（World Bank）2月發(fā)布的一份報(bào)告，城鎮(zhèn)居民有更多的機(jī)會(huì)進(jìn)入專科醫(yī)院和大學(xué)研究中心就診并接觸更有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的醫(yī)生，而農(nóng)村居民卻面臨低于標(biāo)準(zhǔn)水平的治療，醫(yī)生還經(jīng)常濫開一大堆藥。

　　The Lancet study noted that babies born in rural hospitals are almost four times more likely to die than those born in urban delivery rooms.

　　《柳葉刀》的研究指出，農(nóng)村醫(yī)院的嬰兒死亡率是城市醫(yī)院嬰兒死亡率的近四倍。