Action on Salt China: Obstacles Encountered & Opportunities

The Action on Salt China (ASC) project is a noteworthy collaborative venture between China and UK, with the China CDC serving as a key partner. The objective of this report is to present a case study that demonstrates the significant role of ASC in bolstering the capacity of public health services in China. Furthermore, this study aims to offer valuable references and provoke thoughtful insight for potential international collaborations in the future.

 

 

In China, the consumption of salt significantly exceeds the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended limits, with intake levels twice as high. Prevailing evidence has underscored salt reduction as one of the most economical and practical preventative measures to stave off hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. In recent decades, certain nations such as the UK have successfully created and instituted nationwide salt reduction programs. In China, where consumers add approximately 80% of the salt during meal preparation, considerable strides have been made towards crafting salt reduction strategies and interventions under the umbrella of Healthy China 2030 Actions. However, several obstacles obstruct the comprehensive application of these strategies. One notable hurdle is the inadequate capability of the public health workforce to craft, enforce, and assess intricate interventions aimed at promoting salt reduction across varied settings. This includes a deficiency in necessary competencies and expertise to devise scalable and practical salt-reduction intervention initiatives based on need analysis. Furthermore, there's a crucial necessity for the capacity to effectively execute the package, bolstered by ongoing process evaluations, as well as assessments of effectiveness and health economics. As such, offering continuous education and training for public health workers is critical for them to effectively perform their roles in preventing and controlling noncommunicable diseases.