Ambassador of Cape Verde to China, Arlindo Do Rosario, attended the forum
date：2023-09-13 11:17:25 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.
Ambassador of Cape Verde to China, Arlindo Do Rosario, attended the forum and delivered a speech via a prerecorded video
Excellences,
Distinguished Guests and Fellow Participants,
It is with great pleasure and honor that I am here today to participate via videoconference in this important Forum on Traditional Medicine within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.
I have closely followed the development and expansion of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) around the world. This holistic and ancient approach of Chinese People to health has indeed gained attention worldwide.
Please let me briefly introduce you to my Country and comment a bit on the work we’ve been doing in this field.
Cape Verde is a Small Island State located 620 kilometers off the West African Coast. Despite our many vulnerabilities from an environmental, economic and social point of view, we have achieved many successes on our path to development since independence 48 years ago.
In the field of health, according to the W.H.O., Cape Verde, a Middle Income Country, has quite a high rate of universal coverage and health indicators day by day getting closer to the level of emerging nations.
However, with a growing economy and an expanding population, we still face significant challenges in the health sector. We believe that Traditional Chinese Medicine can play an important role in complementing the conventional health services that exist in our nation.
The implementation and development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Cape Verde requires a multidisciplinary approach, involving the government, health professionals, educators, researchers and the community at large. With continuous efforts and an integrated approach, TCM can be a valuable addition to healthcare sector.
Since 2018, Cape Verde has been co-operating with the Macau Special Administrative Region and the Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Industrial Park and several steps have since been taken towards integrating TCM in Cape Verde's National Health Service.
These steps include, but it’s not limited to:
- First, raising awareness and educating the population and health professionals in Cape Verde about the benefits of TCM, through workshops, seminars and lectures on its history, principles and practices.
- Second, gradually training Cape Verdean health professional in TCM, as well as exchanges with Chinese specialists in this new field of knowledge.
- Third, put in place regulations to guarantee the safety and quality of TCM services, with clear protocol and guidelines for their practice.
- Fourth, collaboration between TCM practitioners and conventional medicine doctors to provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to patient treatment, allowing the complementarity of the two practices becoming part of the Cape Verde's National Health System in a model that can work side by side.
As it has happened in other areas of health, the development of health infrastructure in addition to the regular sending of Chinese medical teams, specialized in western medicine to Cape Verde, our bilateral health cooperation can be expanded to the area of Traditional Chinese Medicine, thus becoming a stronger and mutually beneficial partnership.
On the other hand, Cape Verde, due to its strategic location, can serve as an important hub for the expansion and promotion of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Region we are located.
In conclusion, the implementation of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Cape Verde, with the important support of Chinese Cooperation, will be a significant milestone in our journey to strengthen our health system and improve the quality of life for our population.
Many thanks for your attention!