1st Int'l Forum on Women, Kids' Healthcare Kicks Off in S China

The First International Forum on Women and Children's Healthcare was held in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on June 27-28.

Forty-eight domestic and foreign experts exchanged and discussed the latest research results in medical fields such as pregnancy management, gynecology, pediatrics, anesthesiology and genetics.

Themed around "Cooperating, Exchanging and Promoting Women and Children's Healthcare," the event consisted of four sub-forums on different domains.

The provision of healthcare for women and children correlates with family happiness and the coordinated development of society and economy, and is an important hallmark of a civilized and progressive society, said President of the Maternal and Child Health Care of China Association Zhang Wenkang.

Zhang stated that in recent years, the Chinese government has attached great importance to improving women and children's health. In 2014, the nation's maternal mortality rate contracted to 21.7 per 100,000, the infant death rate and mortality for children under 5 years of age dropped to 8.9 per 1,000 and 11.7 per 1,000, respectively, reaching the Millennium Development Goal of the United Nations far ahead of schedule.

In future, China will continue to depend on sci-tech progress and academic exchange to further improve the health of these individuals, said Zhang.

"The forum aims to promote the sharing of academic resources between China and the United States and advance technological innovation," Zhang added. "The Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region plans to take this forum as an opportunity to carry out e-medical, sci-tech and educational programs and explore new cooperative patterns with American experts."

"The forum is a grand event and a milestone for academic exchange between China and the U.S. in gynecology, obstetrics and pediatrics," said Qian Xiang, an assistant professor from Stanford University.

Qian, also founder and president of the Society of Chinese American Physician Entrepreneurs (SCAPE), suggested that China and the U.S. take turns to host the forum and strengthen academic exchange via teleconferences to better promote the development of maternal and child healthcare.

The forum was jointly organized by the SCAPE, Xin Hua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, the State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Central South University and the Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

(Source: Xinhua/Translated and edited by Women of China)