Sino-German Seminar on chronic diseases control organized by Zhejiang University School of Public Health successfully held on Oct. 28th, 2012. Professor Zhen Ye (Vice director of Zhejiang Provincial Health Bureau), Professor Rainer Sauerborn (Director of the Institute of Public Health of Heidelberg University), Professor Shankuan Zhu(Qiushi Chair Professor ), Professor Hengjin Dong (Executive director of the Health Policy and Management Studies Center) and other professionals joined this Sino-German Seminar.
Sino-German Seminar on chronic diseases control provided opportunities to exchange different ideas with ease, to establish friendships in future, to enhance collaboration for chronic diseases control.
Chronic diseases are diseases of long duration and generally slow progression. Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, are by far the leading cause of mortality in the world, representing 63% of all deaths. Out of the 36 million people who died from chronic disease in 2008, nine million were under 60 and ninety percent of these premature deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Currently, with rapid and ongoing industrialization, we face more challenges about chronic diseases control than ever before. Worldwide participants are very important.
Professor Ye introduced the prevalence of chronic diseases and strategies for its prevention and control in a government’s view. He firstly presented some data the Department of Health had collected, which including diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and other chronic diseases or risk factors for chronic diseases, and concluded that chronic disease is now a public health problem in ZhejiangProvince and is the focus of the government’s work. He then introduced the government’s strategies for the control and prevention of the chronic disease, such as regulation of non-smoking in public facilities. At last, he ended his speech by a western proverb. ‘If you want to get there fast―go alone; If you want to go far―go together’
