China, UK unveil joint global health program

The Chinese and British governments are cooperating on a program to improve global health policy for developing countries, with the launch in Beijing on Jan 16 of a new UK-China partnership.

The Global Health Support Program will run until September 2017, with a UK investment of 12 million pounds ($19.20 million) to provide a technical and implementation support, and a Chinese contribution of health expertise and facilities.

The Ministry of Health's Center for Project Supervision and Management will provide program management.

The program will help the UK Department for International Development and low-income countries to learn from China's success in reducing infant, child and maternal mortality rates, and its disease prevention and control; and China's health development and health-sector reforms.

The program will also help improve China's capacity to contribute to global health.

The program falls under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2011 by the two governments, which established a new partnership to work together on shared international development objectives to reduce poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The new program is the latest to be launched under the partnership.

The new program will support pilot partnerships between China, the UK, and developing countries. The goal is to strengthen health systems and improve health outcomes in developing countries.

The program will include a high-level annual dialogue between China and the UK to work collaboratively on issues of common interest in global health governance and architecture and international health priorities.

"With the progress of globalization, all the countries should work together to respond to global health security and development issues," Chinese Vice-Minister of Health Yin Li said.

"The launch of the China-UK Global Health Support Program ushers the China-UK cooperation into a new stage and also provides a major opportunity for China to play a more significant role in global health affairs."

Joy Hutcheon, director general of the UK Department for International Development, said: "The Global Health Support Program demonstrates the common interest of China and the UK in contributing to improved health outcomes for the poor, and provides a platform for our two countries to develop common solutions to global issues."