China will strengthen efforts to fight tuberculosis during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), according to a circular issued by the State Council on Feb 16.

Tuberculosis exerts serious medical challenges for China, as more than 900,000 people are diagnosed with the infectious lung disease each year.

But the situation has improved, with more than 85 percent of patients being cured and the death rate due to tuberculosis declining significantly during the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

The target of the plan is to further improve medical services for people with tuberculosis and increase the recovery rate to more than 90 percent by 2020, according to the circular.

The plan stipulates that all county-level public medical institutions will have the ability to diagnose the disease and medical supplies and anti-tuberculosis assistance will be improved.

In addition, diagnosis and treatment services will be improved for special groups, including children, students, and HIV-infected patients, according to the circular.

Efforts will also be made to enhance medical education regarding tuberculosis through platforms such as Weibo and WeChat. And scientific research and international cooperation on prevention and treatment of the disease will be strengthened.