The coverage rate of sanitary toilets in rural China has increased by two percentage points over the past year to about 77 percent at present, while the tap water coverage rate has risen to 96 percent, a health official said on Monday.

Zhuang Ning, head of the National Health Commission's department of planning and information, attributed the improvement in part to China's decades-long patriotic health campaign, which aims to enhance public health and disease prevention.

He said during a news conference that over the past year, authorities have addressed prominent environmental health problems, eliminated mosquito and pest breeding grounds, and established cooperation between meteorological and health departments to improve urban and rural living environments.

In response to outbreaks of chikungunya and dengue fever in some regions last year, targeted and routine patriotic health campaigns were carried out to strengthen infectious disease control.

At the same time, authorities have stepped up efforts in chronic disease prevention and treatment, including early screening for major cancers.

As a result, average life expectancy in China reached 79.25 years in 2025, he said.

Zhuang added that the health literacy rate among Chinese residents rose to 33.69 percent last year, an increase of nearly two percentage points from 2024, thanks to the intensified dissemination of health and scientific knowledge.