The Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao and Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Industrial Park held in November an online training course on the use of traditional medicine to tackle COVID-19. The training initiative was supported by the Macao SAR Health Bureau and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the People’s Republic of China.
The course’s opening ceremony was held online on November 10, at 8pm (Beijing time). Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Mr Ding Tian; Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Industrial Park President and CEO, Ms Lu Hong; and the Representatives from the Portuguese-speaking Countries to the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, took part in the opening ceremony, and each of those guests delivered a speech.
Deputy Secretary-General Mr Ding said the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao paid great attention to the traditional medicine sector. This sector was prominently featured in the Strategic Plan for Economic and Trade Co-operation signed during the 5th Ministerial Conference of Forum Macao, and it was also considered an important driver in Macao’s economic diversification, he said.
The three-session online course discussed the impact internationally of the COVID-19 pandemic. The course aimed to promote exchanges between experts, scholars and participants on how to tackle the pandemic, including by making use of traditional medicine.
Mr Ding called on participants and other relevant parties to make the most of the course, in order to boost exchanges and deepen cooperation in medical technology, scientific research, personnel training, and implementation and promotion of therapies. He urged all concerned, to promote mutual knowledge of traditional medicine, jointly to tackle the public health challenges posed by the pandemic, and to help ensure the good health of people in each of the participating countries.
The course featured lectures and seminars held via videoconference, broadcast internationally using online tools such as VooV Meeting, YouTube, and Bilibili. About 200 health officials and technicians from Portuguese-speaking Countries signed up for the training, namely from Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe. As part of the programme, experts from each of those six Portuguese-speaking Countries gave lectures focused on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in their respective nations, and discussed measures taken in response. Macao Centre for Disease Control and Prevention director, Lam Chong, discussed Macao’s response regarding prevention and control of COVID-19.
During the course, participants carried out in-depth exchanges while getting to know more about the pandemic situation in Mainland China and Macao, including prevention and control of COVID-19. They also looked into how traditional medicine can be used to support the fight against the pandemic in each of their countries, while contributing to boost post-pandemic economic recovery.
The course was part the joint efforts of China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries to promote cooperation in the health sector, as stated in the Strategic Plan for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries. The training initiative was a step towards the deepening of links between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, and in extending Macao’s role as a platform.
