China and Africa Explore New Opportunities to Cooperate on Health Challenges in Africa and Strengthen Innovative Partnership
via a Press Release: At first China-Africa health roundtable to be held in Africa, leaders gather in Botswana to promote South-South partnership on African health priorities
GABORONE, Botswana, May 6, 2013
Chinese
and African leaders will come together at the 4th International
Roundtable on China-Africa Health Cooperation to explore new
partnerships to address some of the most pressing health challenges
facing Africa and strengthen an innovative health partnership based on
south-south cooperation. This year’s roundtable is the first to take
place on the African continent. It will focus on promoting sustainable
health solutions that meet the needs and priorities of African countries
and draw on China’s unique expertise.
Officials
will engage in two days of sessions aimed at determining how China and
African countries can jointly tackle critical issues such as AIDS,
malaria, schistosomiasis, reproductive health, access to lifesaving
vaccines and non-communicable diseases. These health issues
disproportionately affect African countries and have also been major
health challenges for China. At the roundtable, China’s Director General
of the National Health and Family Planning Commission will join Health
Ministers from Botswana and Ghana; leaders from the African Union;
representatives from the United Nations and non-governmental
organizations; and entrepreneurs and business owners from China and
Africa.
“Indeed,
China and Africa have a long history of collaborating on health, built
on shared challenges, experiences and addressing similar issues,” said
Hon. Rev. Dr. John G. N. Seakgosing, Botswana’s Minister of Health.
“China has a unique role in supporting African health progress. And with
this roundtable, we look forward to deepening our partnership to
benefit the health of our citizens.”
This
roundtable comes as China and Africa mark the 50th anniversary of
providing medical teams to Africa, with China also supporting African
health personnel, infrastructure, malaria control and other programs
such as scholarships for training health experts. At this year’s
roundtable, officials will discuss how to shape health cooperation
between China and Africa and help achieve long-term, sustainable gains,
such as strengthening health systems and addressing the shortage of
healthcare workers.
“Africa’s
future is closely linked with our own and improving health is a
critical building block towards a common prosperity,” said Dr. Ren
Minghui, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation
at China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission. “African
countries have made tremendous gains to improve the health of their
citizens. With China and Africa working hand-in-hand on health, we can
have even greater impact.”
A
major theme of the roundtable is how African and Chinese officials can
create win-win scenarios that will benefit all partners. Much of China’s
health assistance invests in expanding African capacity, which can help
strengthen the continent’s self-sufficiency and economic development.
China has a unique role in supporting Africa’s health progress, drawing
from its investments in health research and development and its
experience improving the health of its own citizens, such as its current
health reform effort, which is the largest expansion of healthcare
coverage in history.
Roundtable
participants will discuss how African countries can best work with
Chinese scientists and pharmaceutical manufacturers to increase access
to high-quality, low-cost health technologies, while ensuring products
are safe and meet international quality standards. Participants will
also explore how China can help support Africa’s local production of
health products. At the same time, African leaders will share expertise
on areas where China can learn from Africa, such as around AIDS
prevention and treatment, to help improve China’s efforts at home.
Africa has been very successful in scaling up HIV treatment as well as
prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs.
“South-South
cooperation facilitates optimization of resources, both human and
material. This creates opportunities to share knowledge and experience,
which contributes to sustainable health solutions,” said H.E. Dr.
Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko, Commissioner of Social Affairs of the African
Union. “China-Africa health partnership is based on a sense of shared
responsibility and global solidarity in responding to health
challenges.”
The
roundtable comes as China and other emerging economies are bringing new
resources and approaches to improve the health of people around the
world. “The global health landscape is changing, with more partners
than ever joining these efforts,” said Dr. Luiz Loures, Deputy Executive
Director of Programme of UNAIDS. “The AIDS response and other
experiences paved the way for transformative progress on health and can
help China and Africa engage on a whole new level and innovate on a
broad range of health issues.”
The
roundtable sessions will be guided by discussion papers that draw on
extensive research and discussion developed by the China-Africa Health
Cooperation Taskforce, comprised of members of the Chinese government
and leading technical institutions, with the support of international
partners including the World Health Organization, United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA), UNAIDS, PATH, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, Global Health Strategies Initiatives (GHSi) (http://www.globalhealthstrategies.com) and other organizations.
The
papers propose pilot projects for China-Africa collaboration in areas
such as strengthening laboratory systems; establishing national control
systems for malaria and schistosomiasis; transferring ARV drug
manufacturing technology and technical support for local production;
training African health personnel; and sharing China’s expertise in cold
chain management and surveillance systems to boost immunization
coverage. Sessions will also address ways to ensure transparency in
these efforts and to guarantee high quality products.
“China
has tremendous potential to support Africa’s long-term development by
leveraging innovation. The roundtable is an opportunity to define a path
for China and Africa to make a positive impact together on health,”
said Dr. Ray Yip, Director of the China Program of the Gates Foundation.
One
aim of the roundtable is to develop joint recommendations that could
lay the groundwork for a long-term strategic plan for China-Africa
health cooperation, which could be considered at the Ministerial Forum
of China-Africa Health Development, part of the Forum on China-Africa
Cooperation (FOCAC), which will take place in August in Beijing.
This
year’s roundtable is hosted by the Botswana Ministry of Health, the
China Chamber of Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce and the Institute
for Global Health of Peking University. The roundtable series, organized
by the Institute for Global Health and the China Institute of
International Studies, began in 2009 as part of a China-led initiative
to evaluate and improve its foreign assistance.
CONTACT: My-Thuan Tran, Global Health Strategies Initiatives
mtran@globalhealthstrategies.com | +267-75960370
