Director-General leads WHO delegation to the Belt and Road Forum for Health Cooperation

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will lead WHO's delegation to the "Belt and Road High Level Meeting for Health Cooperation: towards a Health Silk Road" to be held in Beijing, Aug 18-19, 2017, as part of his first official visit to China since taking office on July 1, 2017.

Tedros' visit is to establish a new vision for WHO-China strategic partnership for the next 5-7 years.

He will meet with high level leadership of the government of China in the State Council; National Health and Family Planning Commission; and ministries of Foreign Affairs and Commerce.

Topics to be discussed during their meetings will include how best to utilize the Belt and Road Initiative to keep people safe and to advance universal health coverage in the countries included in the initiative, and to discuss more broadly the role of China in Global Health.

Dr Tedros will be a keynote speaker in the opening of the "Belt and Road High Level Meeting for Health Cooperation" on Aug 18 and will address health leaders, faculty and students at Peking University on Aug 19 during a dialogue on South-to-South collaboration.

He will also engage Chinese youth during "A Conversation with Dr Tedros: The next generation speaks" on Aug 17 about the power China's future leaders have to protect their own health and promote the wellbeing of others.

Other members of the WHO delegation who will address the "Belt and Road High Level Meeting for Health Cooperation" include:

• Dr Francesco Branca, Director of Nutrition for Health and Development, WHO, to speak at the session on Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition on Aug 18;

• Dr Edward Kelley, Director of Service Delivery and Safety, WHO, to speak at the session on Hospital Cooperation on Aug 18;

• Dr Lance Rodewald, Team Lead Vaccines, WHO China Office, to speak at the Roundtable on Vaccines, on Aug 19;

• Dr Michael Ward, Coordinator of Regulatory Systems Strengthening, WHO, to speak at the Roundtable on Accreditation for Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals, on Aug 19.