On April 22, 2023, the Duke Kunshan Health Forum was successfully held under the theme “strengthen primary healthcare, prevent non-communicable disease, and promote health for all” in the Ball Room if Duke Kunshan University’s Academic Building.

The forum was co-sponsored by Duke Kunshan University, the Center for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control of China CDC, the China Rural Health Association, the Primary Health Branch of the China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care, and the Chinese Consortium of Universities for Global Health, supported by the Kunshan City Government.

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death and disease burden worldwide. In China, about nine in ten deaths dies from chronic diseases. Improving primary healthcare capacities and promoting universal health coverage are effective strategies for NCDs prevention and control, which is important to optimize public health outcomes.

The Healthy China 2030 Blueprint puts forward guidance of “taking people’s health as the center, adhering to the primary health care as the focus, taking reform and innovation as the driving force, focusing on prevention, paying equal attention to Chinese and Western medicine, integrating health into all policies, and building and sharing by the people”. One of its main targets is to reduce premature mortality from major NCDs by 30% in 2030 as compared to 2015.

In this context, the forum invited a broad range of stakeholders, including policymakers, experts, community public health workers, as well as private sector leaders, to join the Forum and discussions. Major topics included strengthening primary health care (PHC), health service integration, new technology and NCDs prevention and control, and epidemic trends and risk factors of NCDs. Around 50 guest speakers made keynotes speeches and presentations, shared their experience in PHC-based NCD prevention and control, and reported their research results. The event was also supported by eight leading health journals.

Over 200 participants, including leaders and distinguished guests from the National Health Commission, Jiangsu Provincial and Suzhou Municipal Health Commission, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, current and former officials of the World Health Organization, renowned leading universities’ leaders and researchers in the field of global health, managers from local health agencies, and frontline workers from primary health care centers participated in the forum.

DKU Chancellor, Dr Youmei Feng opened the Forum with her welcome remarks. She emphasized the urgency and importance to address NCDs and related risk factors and strengthen the health system at primary level. “As the initiator and host of the Forum, Duke Kunshan University is about to reach its 10th anniversary. The Global Health Research Center, as the first scientific research center established by DKU, has achieved fruitful research results in the fields of health policy and system, infectious disease control, non-communicable disease control and prevention, healthy aging, and environmental health over the past decade. I hope this Forum will contribute the prevention and control of NCDs, as well as strengthen our partnership in joint efforts to achieve the national health targets of universal health coverage”, Chancellor Feng said.

During the forum, witnessed by the guests in attendance, Duke Kunshan University and the Center for Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control of China CDC signed a strategic collaboration memo. The five co-hosting agencies of the Forum jointly issued an advocacy letter on “Strengthening Health System at Grassroots, Preventing Chronic Diseases, and Promoting Health”, and called for taking eight actions for the purpose. Duke Kunshan University and the Kunshan First People’s Hospital officially unveiled the “Population Health Joint Laboratory.”

The Duke Kunshan Health Forum, by working with multiple partners, has built a platform for communication and cooperation. Its successful hosting provides new impetus to move from “strategy” to “action” in strengthening primary healthcare and NCDs prevention and controls. The joint efforts from different stakeholders will contribute to the achievement of the “Healthy China 2030” goal and related SDGs for the improvement of population health.