Huai attends int'l symposium on sharing epidemic control experiences

The Chinese Preventive Medicine Association (CPMA) held a video international symposium to share experiences on COVID-19 prevention and control on April 2, 2020.

CAST executive vice president Huai Jinpeng attends a video international symposium held by CPMA on sharing epidemic control experiences on April 2, 2020.

Huai Jinpeng, executive vice president of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Walter Ricciardi, vice president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), attended the event.

Liang Xiaofeng, vice president and secretary general of CPMA and member of the governing council of WFPHA, chaired the symposium.

Huai first extended high respect and sincere greetings to the frontline medics worldwide via WFPHA and national public health associations.

He said that under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and in accordance with the CPC Central Committee’s general requirement of “united to take science-based and targeted measures and fight the epidemic with confidence", the Chinese government and people, united as one, launched a war against COVID-19 which involved society-wide efforts and international collaboration, and major achievements have been made.

President Xi stressed at the G20’s extraordinary summit on COVID-19 that the international community must comprehensively step up international cooperation and foster greater synergy so that humanity as one could win the battle against such a major infectious disease, Huai noted.

Upholding the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, and acting in an open, transparent and responsible manner, China has made timely releases of information about the epidemic and shared, without any reservation, its prevention and treatment experiences with the World Health Organization and the international community, Huai added.

Huai also noted that major infectious diseases are a common enemy of humanity and know no borders and races.

To fight such a disease, He stressed, prevention is the most effective way, a cooperation network that brings together different disciplines and departments is necessary, and global collaboration is the key.

He called on countries to start jointly building a stable prevention system for major global infectious diseases, and said that the Chinese science community is willing to be part of the effort.

Walter Ricciardi thanked CPMA for organizing the symposium and stressed the need to share experiences and knowledge in face of the spreading virus.

It is time to join hands and get prepared for the next major epidemic, he said, calling for the establishment of a stable international cooperation mechanism. He also said WFPHA is willing to provide support for public health associations around the world.

Wang Liping, a research fellow of infectious diseases at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, introduced China’s epidemic prevention and control experiences at the symposium, including the sixth edition of China’s COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment plan. Public health officials and experts from China, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Singapore, Vietnam, Brazil and Africa introduced the prevention and control measures of the countries and regions they represented and shared views on the difficulties and challenges.

To contain the global spread of COVID-19, CAST has organized and mobilized its affiliated national societies with all-out efforts to strengthen international exchange and cooperation. As of April 2, 208 international and national organizations of other countries have held exchanges with China’s national societies. Following CPMA, some other national societies will also organize video international academic exchanges in the near future to share China’s experiences and wisdom in epidemic prevention and control.