Building healthy cities important for China: report

China has adopted several approaches to urban health management, but more efforts are needed to build healthy cities, according to a special report jointly released by Tsinghua University and The Lancet, a prestigious medical journal, on Wednesday.

Titled "Healthy cities: unlocking the power of cities for a healthy China," the report was compiled by a committee of 45 experts from Tsinghua University, the National Health Commission, the World Health Organization, the University of California at Berkeley and other organizations.

The report analyzed the health challenges faced by cities under the context of China's rapid urbanization, summarized the effectiveness and deficiencies of the current actions and proposed to build healthy cities.

According to Gong Peng, the leader of the report, although cities in China have taken action to address health challenges, such as controlling environmental pollution, improving livability of urban environments and strengthening prevention and control of disease, challenges still remain.

An infographic on transforming challenges into opportunities for urban health, from the Tsinghua–Lancet Commission on Healthy Cities in China.

"China issued a blueprint called 'Healthy China 2030' in 2016 and building healthy cities should be well integrated into the plan for a healthy China," Gong said.

"City planners should integrate health in all policies by starting from urban planning, increase public participation, set up suitable local goals, assess progress periodically, and enhance research and education on healthy cities," the report said.

Zhang Yong, an official from the National Health Commission, said the report spanned geography, economics, medicine and many other disciplines.

Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet, said that the report showed not only China's commitment to high-quality and environmentally sustainable development, but also China's important contribution to world health.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)