URUMQI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said the region had spent 4.068 billion yuan (606 million U. S. dollars) offering free universal health checkups for residents.

Xinjiang started to offer free universal health checks from October 2016. Urban and rural residents in the region are eligible for a free health checkup every year.

A total of 17.4923 million people received free health checkups in 2018.

Guo Weijiang, an official with the regional health commission, said the program had offered a series of specific services for different groups of people. Residents aged above 15 years have been provided with tuberculosis screening.

This year, the program will be further digitalized, and more efforts will be made to strengthen disease prevention in the region, Guo said.