Shen Hongbing meets with new director of UNAIDS Office in China

Shen Hongbing, vice-minister of the National Health Commission and administrator of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration (NDCPA), met with Eva Kiwango, the newly appointed director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Office in China, on March 23. They exchanged views on deepening future cooperation.

Shen spoke about the achievements made in the high-quality development of China's disease prevention and control efforts. He noted that the recently concluded annual “two sessions”, the concurrent meetings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, had adopted the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development, which calls for accelerating the Healthy China initiative and providing equitable, accessible, systematic and sustainable health services to improve people's health.

He spoke positively of the past cooperation between China and UNAIDS, adding that China would continue to support UNAIDS in playing a leading and coordinating role in global AIDS response and in carrying out necessary reforms. He also expressed hope that both would further deepen cooperation, promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, and jointly contribute to ending the AIDS epidemic and advancing the building of a global community of health for all.

Kiwango gave a positive appraisal of China's achievements in disease prevention and control. She said that UNAIDS highly values its cooperation with China and is willing to continue supporting China's domestic AIDS response and its participation in global AIDS prevention and control, strengthen South-South cooperation in this field, and work together towards achieving the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic.

Officials from the relevant departments of the NDCPA attended the meeting.