Health webinar encourages building on lessons of pandemic

During a webinar held on Monday, global health experts called for stepping up surveillance and early warnings for public health emergencies, strengthening coordination and cooperation across different sectors and addressing inequalities to prepare for the next pandemic.

Feng Zijian, executive vice president and secretary-general of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, said that although the world is exiting the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to reflect on lessons gained from the battle against the virus, and build resilient health systems to protect health and ensure equity for all.

The webinar was held as part of the second edition of Global Public Health Week, an initiative launched by the World Federation of Public Health Associations, which runs from Monday to Friday.

The international event was held by the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association and the China Association for Science and Technology's United Nations Consultative Committee on Life Science and Human Health.

Shen Hongbing, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the country's disease control system played a critical role in the epidemic.

The China CDC was the first institution to complete whole genome sequencing of the novel coronavirus and has continued to monitor and analyze emerging variants. It also helped formulate and update epidemic prevention and control strategies, carried out epidemiological field investigations, developed vaccines and shared information with the rest of the world.

As part of the country's efforts to increase disease control capabilities, a new central-level disease control and prevention body was set up in May 2021.

Shen, who is also the deputy director of the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention, said that the new institution will establish an intelligent, multi-point trigger mechanism for early warning, improve data integration, risk identification, intelligent analysis and accurate early warning capabilities, as well as break down barriers to data sharing across sectors.

He also stressed the need for cooperation between government departments, such as public health, public security and information and technology authorities. Laboratory testing resources, emergency response command systems need to be improved, as does the deployment of big data tools and international cooperation, he added.

Wang Xiaoqi, head of the China CDC's International Cooperation Office, said that one of the most powerful forces in dealing with an epidemic is "forming a strong partnership involving all stakeholders".

"This network of partners should include not only disease control centers, but also other government department units, public health school research academies, community-based organizations and even private institutions," she said.

Wang added that different stakeholders can work together to strengthen infrastructure, develop the workforce and conduct bilateral dialogue.

Wang Xiaochun, an official from the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association's China AIDS Fund for Non-governmental Organizations, said that among the most pressing tasks at present is strengthening early detection capacity for new infections.

Every country should improve their ability to monitor contagious diseases and public health emergencies, as well as unknown diseases, to prepare for the next potential pandemic, he said.

Kevin Fenton, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said that the COVID-19 epidemic in the United Kingdom both shed light on and exacerbated existing health inequalities, partly manifested in the higher death rates among ethnic minorities and poorer communities, as well as in the relatively lower vaccination rate for the vulnerable.

He suggested a community-centered approach to improve health and the need to pay particular attention to engaging the most hesitant groups and to investing in community interventions

Jaya Dantas, an international health professor at Curtin University's School of Population Health, said that during the pandemic, digital technologies were deployed to tackle the virus.

She said that these tools, ranging from artificial intelligence to digital health, should be kept in place. "We should harness this opportunity to prepare for the next pandemic, and use the tools in a way that is equitable and accessible," she said.