WHO Representative to China, Martin Taylor, attended the forum
date：2023-09-12 16:45:47 views：
On September 6th, the 6th Belt and Road Forum for Traditional Chinese Medicine Development, as a summit forum of the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services, was successfully held at the Beijing National Convention Center. The forum was co-hosted by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, with the theme: 'Deepening Cooperation of Belt and Road Traditional Chinese Medicine Development and Jointly Creating a Global Community of Health for All'. Officials from Chinese and foreign government departments, representatives from international organizations, academicians from the Academy of Engineering, Nobel laureates, and leaders from the political consultative conferences of 10 provinces including Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Gansu, Hebei, and Henan, alongside diplomats from 20 embassies stationed in China from countries such as South Africa, Israel, Belarus, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Cape Verde, Liberia, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, and Cuba, as well as representatives from over 400 enterprises, participated in the event.
WHO Representative to China, Martin Taylor, attended the forum’s opening ceremony and delivered a speech
Distinguished guests, Dear colleagues and friends,
It is my great pleasure to join you at today’s Belt and Road Forum for Traditional Chinese Medicine to deepen cooperation on TCM among Belt and Road countries and jointly build a global community of health for all.
51 years ago, the discovery of artemisinin for use against malaria by Professor Tu Youyou is an example of research and innovation on TCM that achieved a breakthrough in malaria treatment to tackle some of the most profound problems in global health. This has contributed to saving millions of lives arond the world. We can look nowhere else for a better example of the potential of TCM for global health.
So what role can Traditional Chinese Medicine play in achieving better health and well-being for all in the future? That is the challenge in front of us.
Traditional Chinese Medicine, with a history spanning thousands of years, reflects the profound wisdom of the Chinese culture and its holistic approach to health and wellness. It has become an essential part of an increasingly integrated health system. Its wisdom of prevention to avoid disease is as relevant today as it ever was.
Around the world, with the rapidly changing health landscape, there’s an ever-increasing burden of non-communicable diseases and population ageing. To cope with such challenge, there’s no better solution than to apply a holistic approach focusing on prevention, treatment, and managing long term chronic conditions TCM can plan on important role.
In China, there’re already more than 90 percent of community health centers and nearly 80 percent of rural clinics provide TCM services, which is exactly showing how traditional medicine is being integrated with the national health service system, contributing to building resilient health systems, and playing pivotal roles for preventing and treating non-communicable diseases, mental health, and healthy aging.The world can learn from and use TCM, and learn from how China integrates TCM in health system as a break through in global.
However we must acknowledge that not everyone is convinced of the benefits of traditional medicine. There is a need to demonstrate safety and effective. Regulation is vital and this requires systematic data and evidence, research, and monitoring for safety and efficacy. To answer these challenges, we need to continue to systematically build our evidence base. Supporting the development of evidence-based standards and regulations for traditional medicine products, practices and practitioners is central to the continuous success of traditional medicine efforts.
Thousand years ago, the Ancient Silk Road conveyed the stories of exchange and cooperation among countries where traditoinal medicines have played an important role. We are pleased to observe in the new era of the Belt and Road Initiative, health cooperation including TCM, is strengthening.
As the WHO DG Dr Tedros said “Strengthening cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road has the potential to foster improvements in health and wellbeing. Last month, the first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit was convened. The summit committed to harnessing the potential of the evidence-based traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine to improve progress towards universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 for the health and well-being of people and the planet.
Echoing it, the current WHO-China Country Cooperation Strategy between 2022 and 2026 includes two strategic objectives: first, to promote the implementation of Healthy China 2030 and achievement of universal health coverage; Second, at global and regional level, work together to promote global health and build a global community of health for all. It is clear that TCM can play unique roles in both objectives.
Dear colleagues and friends, I hope today’s event is a call for action, to jointly work together to unlock the prominent role of TCM. We honor the wisdom of our ancestors, build collaboration with all stakeholders, empower our communities, and take a significant step towards a world of better health and well-being.
I wish the forum a great success! Thank you.
51 years ago, the discovery of artemisinin for use against malaria by Professor Tu Youyou is an example of research and innovation on TCM that achieved a breakthrough in malaria treatment to tackle some of the most profound problems in global health. This has contributed to saving millions of lives arond the world. We can look nowhere else for a better example of the potential of TCM for global health.
So what role can Traditional Chinese Medicine play in achieving better health and well-being for all in the future? That is the challenge in front of us.
Traditional Chinese Medicine, with a history spanning thousands of years, reflects the profound wisdom of the Chinese culture and its holistic approach to health and wellness. It has become an essential part of an increasingly integrated health system. Its wisdom of prevention to avoid disease is as relevant today as it ever was.
Around the world, with the rapidly changing health landscape, there’s an ever-increasing burden of non-communicable diseases and population ageing. To cope with such challenge, there’s no better solution than to apply a holistic approach focusing on prevention, treatment, and managing long term chronic conditions TCM can plan on important role.
In China, there’re already more than 90 percent of community health centers and nearly 80 percent of rural clinics provide TCM services, which is exactly showing how traditional medicine is being integrated with the national health service system, contributing to building resilient health systems, and playing pivotal roles for preventing and treating non-communicable diseases, mental health, and healthy aging.The world can learn from and use TCM, and learn from how China integrates TCM in health system as a break through in global.
However we must acknowledge that not everyone is convinced of the benefits of traditional medicine. There is a need to demonstrate safety and effective. Regulation is vital and this requires systematic data and evidence, research, and monitoring for safety and efficacy. To answer these challenges, we need to continue to systematically build our evidence base. Supporting the development of evidence-based standards and regulations for traditional medicine products, practices and practitioners is central to the continuous success of traditional medicine efforts.
Thousand years ago, the Ancient Silk Road conveyed the stories of exchange and cooperation among countries where traditoinal medicines have played an important role. We are pleased to observe in the new era of the Belt and Road Initiative, health cooperation including TCM, is strengthening.
As the WHO DG Dr Tedros said “Strengthening cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road has the potential to foster improvements in health and wellbeing. Last month, the first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit was convened. The summit committed to harnessing the potential of the evidence-based traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine to improve progress towards universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 for the health and well-being of people and the planet.
Echoing it, the current WHO-China Country Cooperation Strategy between 2022 and 2026 includes two strategic objectives: first, to promote the implementation of Healthy China 2030 and achievement of universal health coverage; Second, at global and regional level, work together to promote global health and build a global community of health for all. It is clear that TCM can play unique roles in both objectives.
Dear colleagues and friends, I hope today’s event is a call for action, to jointly work together to unlock the prominent role of TCM. We honor the wisdom of our ancestors, build collaboration with all stakeholders, empower our communities, and take a significant step towards a world of better health and well-being.
I wish the forum a great success! Thank you.