On November 22, the sixth Roundtable on China-Africa Health Cooperation was held during the symposium on China-Africa partnership: increasing access to medicines in Africa. The meeting was held under the joint collaboration between China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products and Tsinghua University Research Center for Public Health. Vice President Xu Ming of CCCMHPIE and Director Cheng Feng of PHRC co-chaired the program. More than 100 representatives from health ministries of Africa, the Global Fund, WHO, UNAIDS, Chinese companies and research institutions were present at the meeting.

In his opening address, Deputy Director General Feng Yong of National Health and Family Planning Commission expressed that the Chinese government would go all out to support the entry of high quality, affordable medicines from China to Africa. China would cooperate with Africa to build a disease control center in Africa, enhance its control system and implement relevant cooperative initiatives to ensure access to medicines.

Madam Precious Matsoso, Director-General, Department of Health (VM) of South Africa, mentioned in her address that there are four challenges in access to medicines in Africa, namely the lack of quality regulation, different entry bars in African countries, problematic drug procurement and supply chain and limited budget. She pointed out that some African countries have not ruled out TB and needed to step up efforts to control the disease. She gave high hopes to the establishment of a robust health system to prevent the occurrence of epidemic outbreaks in the future. 

After the general assembly, there were two parallel sessions, Research and Development, Production and Supply. Representatives from health ministry of Malawi, Harvard University, UNAIDS, BMGF, and leading Chinese players in Africa were invited to join the panel discussions. 

Since the first roundtable was held in 2009, this program has received the support of officials, experts and business players of China and Africa and is now receiving increasing attention with each passing day. More and more entities are contributing thought and funds into this important program to jointly push forward the health cooperation between China and Africa.