China has released a three-year action plan to further raise health literacy for all citizens from 2024 to 2027, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Thursday.

Health literacy levels among Chinese citizens should be raised by an average of around 2 percentage points each year during this period, according to the plan jointly issued by the NHC, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration.

Major measures to achieve this goal include better promotion of the subject, regulating the release and dissemination of health information, building talent forces, and stepping up social advocacy and mobilization in this regard, the plan noted.

Health literacy is an important indicator of economic and social development and people's health level.

The plan highlighted the importance of the participation of non-health departments and communities in health literacy efforts and the need to shift the focus from disease treatment to prevention.

It also designated June as China's annual health literacy education month.

In recent years, China's health literacy level has steadily risen and it reached 29.7 percent in 2023, the NHC said in April.

According to Li Changning, director of the Chinese Health Education Center, 12 rounds of monitoring of national health literacy have been carried out since 2012.

The health literacy ratio monitored in 2023 was approaching the target set in the Outline of Healthy China 2030, which stipulates that this ratio must reach 30 percent by 2030.

Over the years, professional health education institutions have also played vital roles in the progress achieved in China's national health literacy, said Li.

Their efforts include formulating the main content of the health literacy index, publicizing health education information and materials, and launching events aimed at raising health awareness, among others, Li added.