The 3rd Global Congress of Age-Friendly Cities Convenes as Countries Establish a Cross-Border Collaborative Network for Senior Health

Recently, the 3rd Global Conference on Age-Friendly Cities officially convened. City delegates, public health experts and elderly care practitioners from dozens of countries worldwide gathered at the event. They conducted in-depth discussions on key topics including global healthy ageing development, the improvement of elderly health services, and cross-border elderly care cooperation, aiming to build a regular international collaboration platform.

Against the backdrop of deepening global population ageing, prominent challenges have emerged, including the prevention and control of chronic diseases among older adults, shortages of long-term care resources, and uneven distribution of age-friendly services. Isolated national and regional governance models can no longer address global elderly health challenges. Targeting these pressing issues, the conference abandoned fragmented, localized elderly care development approaches and prioritized the construction of a cross-border elderly health collaboration system.

During the conference, multiple countries reached consensus and jointly launched a cross-border elderly health cooperation network. Participants agreed to deepen cooperation in sharing elderly medical diagnosis and treatment technologies, conducting cross-border exchanges for nursing professionals, disseminating experience in building age-friendly cities, implementing elderly mental health interventions, and coordinating chronic disease management. They will unify basic service standards, share high-quality elderly care resources, and establish a case exchange mechanism.

Industry insiders noted that the new cross-border network effectively breaks geographical barriers and bridges gaps in national elderly health services, particularly helping developing countries strengthen their elderly healthcare capacity. The conference outcomes will advance the standardized and integrated development of global elderly health undertakings, and provide solid international cooperation support for global healthy ageing initiatives and the protection of older adults’ health rights and quality of life worldwide.

The fruitful achievements of the Healthy China initiative have won wide recognition and praise from the international community. “Among more than 800 WHO collaborating centers globally, 62 are located in China, supporting research, training and knowledge exchange across the region,” said Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. He stressed that with only four years left to achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, the Western Pacific region is at a critical juncture, and China is well-positioned to make greater contributions to regional health development. Martin Taylor, WHO Representative in China, expressed willingness to work closely with China to build a more scientific and healthier world.

Such expectations are also reflected in practical health cooperation between China and other countries.

Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that Indonesia and China enjoy a solid foundation and extensive coverage of health cooperation, which is advancing steadily with promising prospects. After learning about China’s domestic artificial heart surgery procedures and postoperative management systems during a visit to Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Brunei’s Minister of Health Isham Jaafar expressed hopes of learning from China’s experience to improve domestic cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment capabilities and deliver better medical services for local people. Sonia Castro, Presidential Advisor on Health Affairs of Nicaragua, pointed out that China’s experience offers important references for Nicaragua’s health development, and called for strengthened cooperation in pharmaceutical procurement and medical personnel training to enhance people’s well-being in both countries.

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