SCO health officials push for deeper coordination toward better future

XI'AN -- Senior health officials from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries on Monday called for deepening public health collaboration, aiming to build a healthier future for all.

Gathering in Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, health leaders from SCO member states and dialogue partners, and representatives of the SCO and the World Health Organization (WHO) attended the eighth SCO Health Ministers' Meeting.

Under the theme "Promoting Sustainable Health Development and Sharing a Healthy Future," they discussed strategies for tackling shared global health challenges.

Central to the discussions was the collective need to strengthen emergency response systems, expand access to primary healthcare, harness digital technologies, and promote the development of traditional medicine across the SCO countries.

Presiding over the meeting, Lei Haichao, head of China's National Health Commission, highlighted the role of dialogue and cooperation in pioneering reforms in regional and global health governance systems amid an evolving international landscape with overlapping crises.

In his address, Lei outlined China's domestic achievements in improving public health and healthcare reforms, and reaffirmed China's commitment to advancing policy coordination and technological cooperation with SCO partners.

He also called for greater use of existing platforms -- including the China-SCO Emergency Medical Center, the SCO Hospital Cooperation Alliance, and the SCO Forum on Traditional Medicine -- to enhance joint capacity-building efforts in emergency response, primary care, digital healthcare, and traditional medicine across the SCO countries.

Senior health officials from Belarus, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan and other SCO countries shared updates on their national health initiatives and echoed the need to strengthen cooperation within the SCO framework.

As the rotating president of the SCO for 2024-2025, China has introduced the theme "SCO Year of Sustainable Development" to guide cooperation efforts across multiple sectors, with public health identified as a key priority.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev emphasized that building resilient and inclusive healthcare systems is essential to securing a sustainable future.

"It is also the key to addressing the public health challenges faced by SCO countries, which together represent nearly half of humanity," he added.

Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, praised China's leadership in global health and its vision for building a global community of health for all.

"I am glad to see the SCO evolving into a model of constructive multilateralism, rooted in mutual trust and dialogue," Kluge said. "The WHO looks forward to deepening its cooperation with the SCO to tackle pressing health challenges together."