US Health Secretary:Closer Cooperation Only Way to Tackle World Health Issues

Despite their well publicized differences, one area in which China and the US can – and have been – working together successfully is public health. That was the main message from US Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius earlier today, who is in Beijing to take part in the ongoing US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Sebelius gave a speech during a ceremony in which she received an honorary degree from the Peking Union Medical College. CRI's Dominic Swire was there and filed this report.

REPORT:

In her speech at the Peking Union Medical College, US Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius emphasized the importance of tackling global health issues together with other countries, especially at a time when diseases can be spread across the world today more quickly than ever.

"At a time when more than one million people a day drive across our borders and land in our airports we need to understand how to fight disease together because fighting on our own is totally futile."

One move towards better collaboration was the opening of the first overseas US Food and Drug Administration department in China in November 2008. Sebelius said this is helping the two countries tackle global health scares more effectively.

"Working with Chinese regulators we can make sure that goods are produced, handled and transported in ways that protect both Americans and Chinese."
Sebelius, who some have tipped as a future US presidential candidate, said despite the differences between the US and China, the two countries faced similar health challenges.

"Weather it's rising health care costs or obesity, challenges delivering health in our remote rural areas or both our countries' aging populations, our healthcare workforce shortages or health information technology, we're often trying to overcome the same challenges and make similar advancements."
Sibelius said one example of successful collaboration between US and Chinese scientists happened twenty years ago. This was during a study examining how folic acid can prevent the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida in newly born babies. The results, she said, were stunning.

"In some regions of China neural tube defects fell up to 85 percent. 85 percent. Thanks to this work mothers in China and mothers in America and around the world now know they need to get enough folic acid when they're pregnant to make sure they have healthy babies."

It's hoped that through closer partnership within the area of health the two countries can work together to produce further success stories.

For CRI, I'm Dominic Swire.