Year: at the third session of the first CPPCC National Committee held in 1951

Proposal No: 0061

Proposer: the Wuhan Committee of the CPPCC

Content: 

Schistosomiasis (also known as the "potbelly disease") is a chronic infectious disease prevalent in areas around rivers, lakes and marshes along the Yangtze River, Minjiang River and Pearl River. We need to improve our ability to prevent and treat the disease by investing more in technical research, health workers and hygiene education. The goal is to find an effective and scalable cure as quickly as possible to save people's lives. 

1. Step up work at existing local institutions dedicated to preventing and treating the disease, and in particular increase the number of medical professionals. Establish more such institutions or put together medical teams to do treatment rounds in endemic areas and educate the public about the disease. Members of the public are to follow the same set of guidelines and share experiences among themselves.    

2. Create new research institutions for or task existing ones with developing a cure and preventive measures. 

3. Invite medical experts from the Soviet Union to assist us with prevention and treatment. Learn their practices in maintaining hygiene in rural communities and particularly endemic areas. These areas can serve as demonstrations for the rest of the country. 

4. Call on local governments in endemic areas to give top priority to assisting the dedicated institutions in educating the general public about the disease.