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.

　　根据英国医学杂志《柳叶刀》（Lancet）最近发布的一份报告，由于政府提倡到医院分娩的措施取得成效，中国婴儿死亡率出现大幅下降。

　　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.

　　这份研究报告说，1996年到2008年，中国的新生儿死亡率下降了62%。研究人员对37个城市和79个农村县级地区的婴儿死亡案例进行了分析，考察新生儿死亡的原因、出生地点和社会经济学因素。

　　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.

　　北京大学和伦敦大学卫生与热带医学学院（School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London）的研究员认为，死亡率降低的原因是选择在医院而不是在家分娩的女性人数增多。

　　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.

　　虽然中国居民人均可支配收入几十年来取得了大幅增长，但上述变化并非源于中国财富的日益增长，而在于中国政府。

　　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.

　　在联合国千年发展目标的推动下，中国卫生部于2000年启动了一项鼓励孕妇到医院分娩的全国性动议。该运动的主要重点是降低农村地区的婴儿死亡率，因此卫生部提供补助来鼓励农村居民前往医院分娩。据官方数据显示，2010年有近900万农村孕妇拿到了补贴。

　　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.

　　据美国中央情报局（U.S. Central Intelligence Agency）发布的《世界概况》（World Factbook）显示，中国2011年的婴儿死亡率将达到千分之16.06。这使得中国在婴儿死亡率由高到低的排名中位列第112。婴儿死亡率最高的是安哥拉，死亡率为千分之175.9，而美国以千分之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.

　　近几年中国加强了对改善公民健康的关注，具体表现是推出改革医疗系统并为全民提供负担得起的住院、治疗和药物的计划。2009年，中国领导人承诺在三年内投资8,500亿元实现基本医疗保险覆盖90%公民的目标。中国共有13亿人口。

　　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，中国政府还承诺会拨出更多资金扩大县级、镇级和村级的医疗网络。中国约有2万家公立和私立医院，但较小乡镇和农村地区的医院数量依然严重不足。政府一直在鼓励非政府组织和外国投资者在服务水平低下的地区开设私人诊所，以帮助改善当地医疗。

　　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.

　　研究表明中国在这方面依然任重道远。根据世界银行（World Bank）2月发布的一份报告，城镇居民有更多的机会进入专科医院和大学研究中心就诊并接触更有经验的医生，而农村居民却面临低于标准水平的治疗，医生还经常滥开一大堆药。

　　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.

　　《柳叶刀》的研究指出，农村医院的婴儿死亡率是城市医院婴儿死亡率的近四倍。