By Wu Siya

 

BEIJING, July. 16 (China Economic Net) – Themed "Health Beyond Health-In the Year of Sustainable Development 2030", the 3rd Conference of Global Health Forum (GHF) of Boao Forum for Asia, is set to be held in Beijing from July. 16 to July 18. It features a platform for government officials, international organizations, health experts and business leaders to discuss global health issues and promote the development of the global healthcare industry.

 

 

"In September, the United Nations will hold a summit to review and promote the implementation of the 17 sustainable development goals of the UN 2030 Agenda. Among these goals, health is one of the most indispensable aspects," Zhang Jun, Secretary-General of the Boao Forum for Asia, pointed out at the opening press conference. 

 

Another guest, Xu Xinchao, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Municipal Government, mentioned that the capital is striving to push the total scale of pharmaceutical and health industry to 1.25 trillion yuan by 2026, while increasing efforts to promote international cooperation. 

 

By now, many foreign aid medical teams have trained a large number of medical talents for recipient countries, meanwhile actively introduced the world’s top scientists and cutting-edge pharmaceutical and health technology companies. Global leaders including Bayer, Sanofi, and AstraZeneca have established R&D centers or production bases in Beijing, Xu added.

 

At the sub-forum Universal Health Coverage-Health Promotion for Sustainable Development held on the same morning, conferee discussed in depth how health and health equity, namely the big health, play a huge role in the UN sustainable development goals.

 

 

"The Healthy China 2030 Initiative underscores a pivotal transition in China's strategic focus. No longer content with singularly chasing swift economic expansion, the nation has embarked on a transformative journey toward comprehensive and enduring progress. In the past decade, more than 20 prefecture-level cities in China, including Beijing, have begun to promulgate comprehensive smoking bans, laying a solid foundation for the health of the people by reducing secondhand smoke on the largest scale," said Martin Taylor, the World Health Organization's representative in China, speaking directly to the point and highly praising China’s achievements in sustainable development over the past decade.

 

Mao Qunan, vice president of the Chinese Hospital Association, echoed that sustainable health goals mean a shift from relying solely on the medical and health system to the overall linkage of society, namely big health.

 

"Climate change is threatening human health and safety. If humans do not take any measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the earth will eventually warm up by 2.4-6.4 degrees Celsius, which is extremely dangerous. The resulting hunger, sudden global epidemics and other diseases and natural disasters are unbearable for us. It is imperative for humans to control global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius," said Cordia Chu, director of the Center for Environment and Population at Griffith University in Australia, who analyzed the environmental factors that threaten human health and the urgency of taking measures from an ecological perspective. 

 

"Therefore, all social institutions must follow the concept of big health at the same time, build healthy hospitals, healthy universities, and healthy cities, rather than relying on a single field."

 

Hiromasa Okayasu, Director of the Division of Healthy Environments and Populations at the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, also indicated the implementation of big health in detail, mentioning that among the factors affecting health listed by WHO, 10% come from simple health services, while 35% come from a safe social environment and stable living conditions. "In other words, building a healthy community benefits from the joint efforts of healthy hospitals, healthy schools, and healthy workplaces."