Meeting on cross-border diseases held in Kunming

The Meeting on Joint Response to Infectious Diseases at Border Areas of Four Countries (China, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) along Lancang-Mekong River was held in Kunming, Yunnan Province on September 12, with a consensus on the memorandum of cooperation framework reached among the countries.

The Greater Mekong Subregion is an area most threatened by infectious diseases, and it is imperative to jointly prevent and control infectious diseases such as dengue and AIDS in the area, said Lei Zhenglong, deputy director of the disease-control bureau of China National Health Commission.

With completion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, China and the countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion have seen closer economic ties and more frequent people-to-people exchanges, increasing the risk of infectious diseases in border areas.

Yunnan is China’s gateway to south and southeast Asia. In recent years, the province has carried out various cross-border exchanges and cooperation with neighboring countries on infectious diseases. By promoting joint efforts on disease prevention and control, Yunnan has played a part conducive to win-win cooperation.

In the coming three years, Yunnan plans to explore and establish a prevention and control mechanism on infectious disease for the four countries along the Lancang-Mekong River, said Lu Lin, deputy director of the Health and Family Planning Commission of Yunnan Province.

Reporting by Chu Tian; trans-editing by Wang Shixue