On June 11, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus congratulated the Global Health Forum by video. (Photo by Li Ziheng, Xinhua News Agency)

The first Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia was opened in Qingdao, China, on June 11, aiming to bring together global forces to help promote the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and achieve "Health for All, Health Beyond Health”.

The Global Health Forum was launched by Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in 2018 as a comprehensive platform for government, business and academia, high-end dialogue and practical cooperation in the field of health, with wide representation and authority.

Li Baodong, Secretary-General of Boao Forum for Asia, said that from the very beginning of its establishment, the Forum has not been limited to discussing traditional pharmaceutical professional issues such as drugs and medical devices, but has focused on the cutting-edge development and cross-disciplinary integration trends in the big health industry, dedicated to pooling the wisdom of the whole industry and promoting cross-sectoral cooperation. With the rapid development of big data, artificial intelligence and biological research, we should look at the health industry with a new vision and perspective, and give it a new connotation of the times.

With the theme of "Health Beyond Health – In the Year of Sustainable Development 2030" and the slogan of "Health for All", the conference features an opening ceremony, 28 sub-forums, and 4 Innovation Project Pre-Roadshows. The conference attracted 2,600 participants from 55 countries and regions, demonstrating the importance of health issues and the determination of all parties involved to work together to address human health challenges and promote the right to health for all.

Margaret Chan, President of Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia, said that public health care is a public good, and in the era of globalization, to achieve the goal of "Health for All" requires the participation of everyone and international cooperation.

 "The first Global Health Forum aims to provide a platform to promote cooperation between business and government, to promote public and non-public interest organizations to work together, and to promote scientists, investors, policy makers and others to work together for the theme of the conference." She said.

Health is the greatest common good for all humanity, and on October 25, 2018, the World Health Organization adopted the Astana Declaration, committed to strengthening primary health care and promoting the ambitious goal of "primary health care for all."

In the past decades, human health has witnessed many historic breakthroughs: smallpox was diminished, under-five mortality was reduced by more than 50%, and the average life expectancy of the global population has increased by 7 years since 1990 ...... Some developing countries, represented by China, have achieved significant progress in basic health insurance coverage, the average life expectancy and key health indicators of the population.

As the world's most populous country and the largest developing country, China has proposed and worked hard to promote the "Healthy China" initiative and issued and implemented the "Healthy China 2030" plan and other action plans, providing opportunities to promote China's health cause and actively participate in international health cooperation. It also provides an opportunity for China to actively participate in international health cooperation and contribute to a roadmap for solving the world's basic health coverage problems.

Participants of Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia are listening to the speeched at the opening ceremony of the forum on June 11. (Photo by Guo Xulei, Xinhua News Agency)

In the 70 years since the founding of New China, health cause has made great progress, with average life expectancy rising from 35 years before 1949 to 77 years in 2018, with residents' major health indicators generally better than the average of middle- and high-income countries, and major infectious diseases effectively controlled ...... That China has used less investment to obtain a higher health performance has won the praise of the public and the international community.

However, there is still a long way to go to achieve the goal of "Health for All" worldwide.

At present, the level of health development is extremely uneven among countries, and human health still faces various challenges: at least half of the global population does not have access to basic health services; climate change and environmental pollution are increasingly harmful to health; hypertension, diabetes, malignant neoplasms and many infectious diseases are depriving hundreds of millions of people of their health and even their lives ......

In a video message, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said humans are healthier now than ever, living longer and with more advanced health services, but still face many contemporary health challenges. "The challenges we now face need to be addressed by all."

Strengthening cooperation and pooling efforts has become a consensus among countries to maintain health security and national health. China is an active advocate and firm practitioner of international health cooperation, has made health cooperation an important part of the "One Belt, One Road" project, and has cooperated with most countries in the world in the field of health, according to the data.

For a long time, China has dispatched foreign aid medical teams to 71 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania, sending a total of 26,000 medical personnel who have treated 280 million patients, which has won high praise from the governments and people of the aided countries.

It is reported that the conference will last until the 12th, and meanwhile Global Health Expo of Boao Forum for Asia is also held with an exhibition area of 20,000 square meters, bringing together more than 200 well-known enterprises in the field of health industry at home and abroad.