Ambassador: Yuxi Chen
1. Which aspects of Pandemic Preparedness is most pertinent to your country and why?
The past decades have seen China’s increasing integration into global society. As the world’s most populous country with an expanding economy, China continues to face challenges in the social sector, including public health, education, and regional government coordination. With its high level of population migration as well as increased international economic exchange, China has also become a critical player in the global control of disease outbreaks, especially after SARS in 2003 and the H1N1 Influenza pandemic in 2009. Consequently, China’s priority within the context of Pandemic Preparedness is to balance development with pandemic detection and response, both at the national and the international level.
2. How would you as the WHO Ambassador of your country address this issue?
China resolves to address Pandemic Preparedness by taking into consideration WHO guidelines, China’s national situation, as well as opportunities for collaboration with international partners.
1. Planning and coordination
Planning ahead should be carried out as the first step in pandemic preparedness. This involves legislative amendments corresponding to the most recent changes in national disease outbreaks, government revenue allocation, and availability of surveillance and medical resources. In addition, regional administrative offices and hospitals need to develop collaborative efforts so as to achieve a common understanding of responsibilities and priorities in pandemic situations. Of equal importance is the strengthening of coordination among various administrative offices, as the lack of cohesive central responsibility for health care issues has affected the delivery of quality health service.
2. Monitoring and communication
Monitoring should be carried out continuously, with community health centers communicating with large hospitals, and hospitals then transferring information to government agencies. Monitoring needs to be conducted with vigilance, requiring the adequate training of personnel and effective use of resources. Moreover, transparency and speed in communication is important to ensure information reaches the public and, in certain cases, the international community in a timely manner. This will be of critical importance to parties of interest as intentional interception of information can lead to significant economic and social consequences.
3. Disease control
To prevent rapid spread of disease and to ensure stable control of disease, education and acute medical intervention are dually important. In the long term, public education on healthy living and disease prevention would improve public knowledge and awareness on pandemic situations. Active medical intervention should focus on adequate vaccine and medication supply, environmental influences, and international collaboration and trade.
An important theme to adhere to in disease control and all aspects of pandemic preparedness is evidence based action. It is crucial that decisions are made and measure are taken according to reliable and scientific evidence in order for efforts to be successful.
4. International collaboration and funding
China receives a moderate but important amount of assistance from the international community, both monetary and in human resources. China will work to achieve greater collaboration with existing partners, and endeavour to improve the exchange of technology and pandemic experience with potential collaborators.
3. How has your country addressed Pandemics in the past? What would you have done differently?
During the 2003 SARS outbreak, China was initially slow to report cases and this greatly affected the national response to the disease outbreak as well as the containment of the disease within a limited geographic region. In retrospect, monitoring and communication measures should have been implicated at all government and health sector levels with greater emphasis.
4. Which countries do you see yourself becoming allies or rivals with? Why?
China’s integration into the international community is built on the foundation of positive relations with other countries. As such, China puts great emphasis in collaborating closely with its allies in South America and Africa, as well as countries in the East Asia and South-East Asia bloc. China’s growing trade and greater involvement in international affairs also indicates our incentive to work with the United States, Canada, and the European Union. Finally, China believes common ground can always be found, even between rivalling countries; thus, finding shared interest is of equal importance to us.