Health officials from China and countries of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday proposed setting up a
regional disease-monitoring network for post-disaster epidemic
prevention.??
"The earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean demonstrated
once again that natural disasters are common threats to all human
beings. To defend ourselves from such catastrophes, we should have
an effective cooperative mechanism for epidemic prevention," said
Vice Minister of Health Wang Longde at a two-day China-ASEAN
symposium in Beijing on post-disaster epidemic prevention.
To support the initiative, Wang said China would share its
experiences in disaster relief and disease control and provide
technical support in rapid testing, water quality monitoring,
emergent immunization and personnel training.
Since the SARS outbreak in early 2003, China has been very
active in international health cooperation. In a letter to the
symposium, Vice Premier Wu Yi
said that China would continue to engage in international exchange
and cooperation in the area of public health to improve regional
disaster response and epidemic prevention capabilities.
"During the SARS outbreak, China showed it had the capacity to
contain a very dangerous outbreak. We sincerely hope that China
will be a very good partner in the prevention of disease outbreaks
in the future," said Bounpheng Philavong, senior officer of ASEAN's
Bureau for Resources Development.
Wu also promised that the Chinese government would continue to
assist the tsunami-hit countries in rehabilitation and
reconstruction.
The December 26 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami claimed
nearly 300,000 lives. In the aftermath, the World Health
Organization was concerned that major outbreaks of infectious
diseases in the affected regions might create more victims.
(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2005)