The China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) and Meituan Health, a business unit of Chinese on-demand delivery service provider Meituan, jointly launched a public welfare program titled "Her Health, Family Care" in Beijing on May 7.

The launch ceremony brought together Du Rui, president of the CCTF, Li Xiaohui, general-manger of the Affairs Department of Meituan Health, Kai Li, president of Meituan Foundation, Zhang Ling, deputy manager of the Sales and Marketing Department of Beijing Tong Ren Tang Technology Development Co., Ltd. and Zhang Lin, associate chief physician and deputy researcher of Obstetrical and Gynecological Department in Peking University People's Hospital. Deputy secretary-general of the CCTF Wang Haijing presided over the event.

The health of women and children is the cornerstone of public health. It is not only related to family health and social harmony but also the future of the nation. The newly-unveiled public welfare program responds to the health demands of pregnant and lying-in women as well as adolescent girls.

It will organize a wide range of thematic activities, which include online and offline obstetrical and gynecological science courses, science popularization courses for adolescent girls, and the distribution of nutritional supplements as well as healthcare packages, to further improve the health of women and children in remote areas with limited medical and health resources like Northwest China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces, promote the implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) and advance the Healthy China Initiative.

Du said that the launch of the program is a concrete measure to support the Healthy China Initiative and a specific step to meet new demands of the times and respond to social concerns.

Du emphasized the utmost importance of women's health and family well-being to national development and social stability. She said that the CCTF and Meituan Health will further leverage their complementary strengths, engage in in-depth collaboration, explore sustainable and efficient approaches of public welfare cooperation that meet new requirements of the times, and make concerted contributions to the high-quality development of social public welfare undertakings.

Kai said that the work on women's health is not only for their physical and mental health but also beneficial to the families behind them because women play an essential role in families and they are the guardians of family health.

She stressed that the nutritional health of pregnant and lying-in women is crucial to newborns' health, which in turn matters much to the future of their families, and she added that the scientific management of women's health is the foundation of family happiness.

Kai said that Meituan Health has reached a cooperation agreement with the CCTF over the upgrading of former "Her Health" program into "Her Health, Family Care" program and that the two sides have chosen Qinghai and Gansu as the first two regions to implement the upgraded program.

Zhang said that the postponement of childbearing age leads to rising reproductive risks for pregnant and lying-in women and that they should remain alert of misleading and unprofessional information. She said that scientific and authoritative popularization knowledge is never an optional supplement but the first defense line of maternal and infant safety.

Meituan Health presented a donation of one million yuan (US $142,857) to the CCTF at the ceremony.

With the launch of the program, the science popularization classes for pregnant and lying-in women have already been held in Gande County in Gansu. Specially-invited experts in maternal and infant health from East China's Shanghai Municipality have given lectures focused on maternal nutrition, newborn screening and early intervention.

In the next step, the program will organize healthcare activities for pregnant and lying-in women as well as adolescent girls in Lixian, Xihe and Zhangxian counties of Gansu in both online and offline forms to better ensure women's health and their family well-being.