Academic forum on global health and "Belt and Road" held on 20th anniversary of China CDC

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), as well as the 39th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. 2022 also witnessed more ambitious targets set by the Central Government of China for Chinese health development. The academic forum on global health and "Belt and Road" around the 20th anniversary of the China CDC was held in Beijing on November 26. 

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of public health security. The forum embodied the China CDC's active participation in global health governance and the development of the "Belt and Road" initiative as well as its role in pushing forward the building of a community of health for all. Top officials of the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control of the National Health Commission and the China CDC, multidisciplinary experts in global health studies and practice, as well as international partners attended the forum in person, while more than 400 experts and scholars watched the conference online.

 

Shen Hongbing, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, deputy director of the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control and director of the China CDC, delivered a speech at the forum. He reviewed the remarkable achievements made by the China CDC in the past two decades, proposed the vision of building an international first-class disease control and prevention institution, and expressed a firm commitment to the building of a community of health for all and contributing China's wisdom and strength to building a better world. Meng Qun, senior counsel of the Department of Science and Technology, Education and International Cooperation, National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control, hosted the opening ceremony, and Zhou Yuhui, deputy secretary of the Party committee of the China CDC, delivered concluding remarks at the event. 

 

The forum, with a theme of "Integration and Innovation", invited many experts, including Qi Xiaopeng, deputy director of the Center for Global Public Health at the China CDC, Zhou Xiaonong, director of the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases (NIPD) at the China CDC and professionals from Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Peking University, Tsinghua University, China Foreign Affairs University, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, etc., to give feature reports. They shared global health related theories, achievements and experiences pertaining to the development history of China’s participation in global health development. Their remarks ranged from views on China’s cooperation model, disease prevention and control, staff training, to health-related products, network building, think-tank building, financing and social engagement.

 

The forum also invited Diao Mingsheng, former Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Benin, and scholars from the China National Health Development Research Center, Peking University, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the China-Africa Development Fund, Health Poverty Action (UK) Yunnan Office, and the China CDC to participate in a roundtable forum on the opportunities and challenges faced by global public health cooperation in the post-pandemic era. Participants also shared their ideas on capacity improvement, public health diplomacy and foreign health aid. 

 

In the post-pandemic era, the China CDC will focus on its core functions in disease prevention and control, health emergencies response, scientific research, and education and training, and strive to align their performance with international standards, in order to safeguard the country's public health security and contribute to the building of a community of health for all.