and the second global plan to stop tb. these include a programmatic approach to diagnosis and treatment of mdr tuberculosis, tuberculosis control in migrants, and tuberculosis/hiv collaborative activities. additionally, the five-year plan for implementation of the national hiv/aids program aims to stem the rise of the hiv/aids epidemic by expanding prevention, treatment, and care activities. implementation of these new policies and interventions will require a substantial increase in both domestic resources and international support, especially for poor areas in china's central-western provinces. although disease-specific interventions are important, further strengthening of the public-health system will be needed if china is to halve the prevalence of tuberculosis and the number of deaths caused by the disease. to increase access, a package of essential public-health services for rural inhabitants and urban migrants should be provided with governmental subsidies. this package should include services for at least tuberculosis, immunisation, hiv/aids, sexually transmitted infections, and maternal and child health. the government must also address the warped incentives in hospitals that encourage the generation of profits from drugs, tests, and state-of-the-art technologies. this profit generation fuels the inappropriate diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, including tuberculosis. finally, the government should provide operational costs for public-health services and full salaries for health-care workers, especially at and below the county level, where most of the rural population live. the number of staff needed for essential public-health functions should be carefully calculated, and public-health workers must be given fair pay. without this, the development and maintenance of a motivated and skilled public-health workforce to meet the challenges of the 21st century will be difficult. ultimately, china's progress in the control of tuberculosis and public-health reform will depend on the degree of political commitment to address these challenges. in this regard, the indication by premier wen jiabao, speaking at the national people's congress in march 2006, that public health is a key component of the country's 11th five-year development plan is very encouraging. he highlighted the need to improve rural and urban health services, making them affordable for all, and specifically mentioned the need to control hiv/aids, tuberculosis, and schistosomiasis. with increased governmental commitment and funding to improve public health, china has reason to believe that the prevalence of tuberculosis and deaths caused by the disease can be halved within the next decade. in conclusion, the chinese experience has shown that investment in both control programs and health systems—rather than investment in one or the other alone—was needed, and indeed essential, to achieve the 2005 global targets for tuberculosis, and provides an example for developing countries scaling-up efforts to achieve health-related mdgs.