Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Public Health has held in depth discussions on managing diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and polio with China’s Deputy Director for Disease Control and Prevention, Shen Hongbing.
On an official visit to China, Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali also discussed other issues, with Shen and other officials, such as monitoring of diseases, disaster management processes and capacity building for Afghan healthcare workers.
Jalali, who was in China for the World Conference on Traditional Medicine 2024, also toured China’s Disease Control and Prevention Center (CDC) and its National Influenza Center.
The conference, which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Beijing, was jointly held by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese sponsors, including China’s National Health Commission.
The opening ceremony of the two-day event was attended by health officials of governments and international organizations, experts and scholars, and deputies from medical institutions.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gave a speech via video.
Addressing delegates at the conference, the ministry cited Jalali as having said that traditional medicine in Afghanistan needs to be regulated and integrated into modern healthcare practices.
He also advocated for strengthened bilateral cooperation between China and Afghanistan to enhance capacity building, experience sharing, and joint research in the sector.
Afghanistan’s health ministry has meanwhile established a Traditional Medicine Department which is currently tasked with formulating policies and guidelines to regulate and improve this sector.
