Qin Xinhua

Qin Xinhua, born in 1937, was one of the early important leaders of the Communist Party of China. Her father was the daughter of Bogu and Liu Qunxian; her family background exposed her early on to the Chinese revolution and political affairs. Qin Xinhua laid a solid foundation in education and later gradually entered the fields of medicine and public health, becoming an important figure in China's health sector.

Throughout her career, she steadily advanced from clinical work and was recognized as a researcher due to her outstanding contributions in the clinical field. With the development of China's medical and health事业, Qin Xinhua transferred to the Ministry of Health in 1985, serving as the Deputy Director of the Women and Children’s Department. In this position, she was responsible for organizing and managing national women's and children's health care and health science education. During the same period, she also served as Vice President, President, and Secretary-General of the Chinese Association of Eugenics and Quality Maternity.

In her work, Qin Xinhua actively promoted a preventive-oriented health policy focused on enhancing the health level and the quality of the birth population of the nation. She organized the formulation of several national health policies and standards. She presided over the drafting of China’s first Mother and Infant Health Law, which came into effect on June 1, 1995. To implement the law’s principles, she also led the establishment of the Birth Defects Monitoring Center, collaborated with various provinces and cities to carry out birth defect monitoring programs, collected and analyzed data on over one million births, and compiled and published the "Birth Defects Atlas," providing a scientific basis for the prevention of birth defects.

Qin Xinhua actively promoted the development of women and children's health and eugenics and quality maternity programs. Starting in 1989, she served as Vice President and then President of the Chinese Association of Eugenics and Quality Maternity. She promoted the establishment of 28 provincial associations of eugenics and quality maternity and 18 specialized branches, creating a large academic and operational network. Her organizational and leadership efforts received recognition from the Ministry of Health and other departments. In 1998, the Ministry of Health’s review of the association highlighted its active role in popularizing eugenics and quality maternity knowledge, fostering scientific research cooperation, and facilitating academic exchanges, with well-established systems and significant achievements.

Throughout her career in public health and women’s and children’s health care, Qin Xinhua emphasized the importance of science and technology and rigorous practical operations, contributing significantly to the sustained development of China’s health事业. She passed away in Shenzhen on February 14, 2022, at the age of 85.