Director Shen Hongbing Attends 2024 China Conference on NCDs Prevention and Control

The 2024 China Conference on NCDs Prevention and Control was held in Beijing from October 19 to 20. Guided by the Department of Medical Emergency Response of the National Health Commission, the conference was jointly hosted by the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), and other institutions, with the Center for Chronic Disease Control at the China CDC and the Chronic Disease Branch of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association serving as co-organizers.

 

Under the theme “Shifting the Focus Upstream, Comprehensive Prevention and Control,” the conference aimed to bring together top experts to address key issues in chronic disease prevention, share research findings, exchange practical experiences, explore optimization strategies, and collaboratively chart a course for future progress.

 

Attendees included Cao Xuetao, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Shen Hongbing, Deputy Director of the National Health Commission, Director of the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention, Director of the China CDC, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Chen Zhu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Li Bin, President of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association; Chang Jile, Deputy Director of the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention and Vice President of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association; Martin Taylor, World Health Organization Representative in China; Miao Chunyan, Vice President of Nanyang Technological University and Academician of the Singapore Academy of Engineering; Jia Weiping, Director of the National Office for Diabetes Prevention and Control and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Officials from the National Health Commission, National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and relevant departments of the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention were also in attendance.

 

In his remarks, Deputy Director Cao Xuetao highlighted the National Health Commission’s thorough implementation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council’s strategic directives to prioritize health in development. He underscored the Commission's strong focus on chronic disease prevention and control, noting plans to further advance preventive efforts, strengthen the prevention and control infrastructure, actively mobilize resources from across society, engage proactively in international exchanges, and drive an integrated approach to chronic disease prevention.

During the keynote session, Director Shen Hongbing provided an overview of chronic disease prevalence and the progress in control efforts across China. He noted that key risk factors for chronic diseases in the country have not been effectively managed and that the disease burden remains significant. Shen stressed the need to further enhance the mechanisms for chronic disease prevention and control, prioritizing lifestyle interventions such as weight management. He called for strengthened measures for integrated prevention across multiple diseases, merging healthcare and prevention, and establishing a comprehensive monitoring system that integrates data from multiple sources to improve surveillance efficiency.

During the conference, the “Year of Weight Management: A Hundred Cities, a Thousand Districts, and Ten Thousand Households” joint initiative was launched, along with the release of a special issue by The British Medical Journal on the current challenges of chronic diseases in China.

 

The conference also organized eight sub-forums focused on key topics in chronic disease prevention and control to broaden perspectives and collaboratively advance high-quality progress in China’s chronic disease prevention efforts. Over 1,500 participants from the healthcare system, disease control sector, research institutions, and higher education institutions across the country attended the event.