Public health leaders from China and the U.S. gathered on October 31, 2013, for a day-long event highlighting the two countries’ health challenges. With the theme “Preventive Medicine and Public Health,” the third U.S.-China Health Summit, co-sponsored by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Peking Union Medical College, covered topics including the importance of primary care, addressing non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and expanding access to health care.
Speaker Nils Daulaire, assistant secretary for global affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), told the audience at Harvard Medical School’s Joseph Martin Conference Center that the “international travel of goods and people exposes us to the threat of novel diseases and old diseases which have been largely forgotten here or developed resistance to our established treatments.” Quoting HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, he said, “We can no longer separate global health from Americans’ health. We need to look beyond our borders to improve health in our country.”
Yuanli Liu, dean of the Peking Union School of Public Health, senior lecturer on global health at HSPH, and founding director of the Harvard School of Public Health China Initiative, also spoke at the event, which was introduced by HSPH Dean Julio Frenk.
Former HSPH Dean Barry Bloom, Distinguished Service Professor and Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Professor of Public Health, and William Hsiao, K.T. Li Professor of Economics, were honored for their support for U.S.-China collaboration on health.
— Amy Roeder
Photo: Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer