Global sustainable health seminar in Beijing

Source: en.nhfpc.gov.cn

Updated: 2015-10-12

A health policy seminar concerning sustainable development goals (SDGs) opened in Beijing on Sept 24, bringing in more than 100 people from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the China Food and Drug Administration, and the UNAIDS branch in China to discuss poverty elimination, education, environmental protection, eliminating HIV/AIDS, and other areas.

The seminar was held in relation to a UN summit that will be held in New York to approve a document on “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and related goals. These goals include those discussed in Beijing as well as, education, lowering maternal mortality rates, tuberculosis, malaria and other infectious diseases, better mental health care, universal health coverage, and reproductive health care services.

The seminar was hosted by the National Health and Family Planning Commission and World Health Organization Beijing office, who pointed out that China has reached its millennium health development goals, but that the sustainable development goals cover a wider range and set higher standards so they will necessarily involve more departments in research and cooperation.

They also explained the challenges of the sustainable development goals from an international and local perspective and said that this will play an important role in China's medical system reforms and health and family planning development. The participants discussed these challenges and the role that international organizations can play, as well as the innovative, strategic approaches China should explore.

The same day of the seminar, there was a China-WHO national cooperative strategy seminar (2016-2020). China has been working on a cooperative strategy with the WHO since 2004 and has seen some positive results in health policy, technology and human resources and in China's health reforms. This new round of cooperative strategy discussion at the seminar is expected to support China's health and family planning program and reforms over the next five years, and included representatives of the Health and Family Planning Commission.