民族卫生工作关系到各族人民的健康和各项建设事业的发展。新中国成立后，面对少数民族地区严峻的医疗卫生形势，中国共产党领导的新生政权通过完善基层卫生组织、组建巡回医疗队、开展卫生宣传教育、群众性卫生清洁运动等方式，不仅使各少数民族地区的医疗卫生事业得到迅速发展，防疫卫生网络初具规模，防病治病工作取得很大成效，天花、鼠疫、性病等严重危害各族人民健康的疾病基本消灭，疟疾的大面积流行得到控制，其他疾病亦显著减少，缺医少药、疾病猖獗、人口下降的状况有了很大的改善，而且通过医疗卫生事业的发展，很大程度上凝聚了人心，增强了少数民族同胞对新中国的向心力，从而进一步推动了少数民族地区 的社会进步事业。

Health care for ethnic minorities has a bearing on the health of the people of all nationalities and the development of various undertakings in minority areas. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in the face of the grim medical situation in minority areas, the new regime under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) not only enabled the rapid development of public health service in minority areas, but also achieved great progress in disease prevention and treatment through the means of improving grassroots health organizations, setting up roving medical teams, carrying out health education, and mass sanitation campaigns. Smallpox, bubonic plague and venereal diseases that endangered the health of all ethnic groups were basically eliminated, and the malaria pandemic was controlled; other diseases were also markedly reduced. The situation of lack of medical care and medicine, rampant diseases, and population decline in minority areas has been greatly improved. Moreover, the development of public health service has to a great extent united the people of minority nationalities and strengthened solidarity of New China, thus promoting the cause of social progress in minority areas.