More Chinese people will get equal access to medical facilities and public health services through a cooperation plan between the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday.

According to the plan, the ministry will work together with WHO to promote health service equality by carrying forward universal health coverage as well as reducing the occurrence of main diseases and the death toll resulting from sanitary-related diseases.

The cooperation plan will be dedicated to reducing the unfairness in the use of medical facilities and public health services in China's western areas.

The country has made progress in improving people's health, however, discrepancies still exist among groups living in different areas, according to the cooperation plan.

A gap in per capita health spending still exists in the country's rural and urban areas.

"The cooperation will ensure that all Chinese citizens, particularly the most vulnerable groups and those living in the country's remote rural areas are covered by basic public health services," said Dr Michael O'Leary, WHO representative in China.

The ministry said the cooperation will help reduce the regional disparity in public health services, adding that preferential policies will be laid out towards the country's western under-developed regions.

The cooperation plan will last from 2013 to 2015.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2013)