Chief Executive Lee Goldman and CUIMC Faculty share their studies on public health with experts worldwide at the first Xiong’An International Health Forum

November 15, 2018

The first Xiong'An International Health Forum closed on Novemebr 15, 2018.

As an international summit for world health, the Xiong'An International Health Forum, also referred to as the "Xiong'An Forum", was co-founded by the Shenzhen World Health Foundation, China Association of Chinese Medicine, and China Institute of Strategy and Management.

The Forum received recognition and strong support from the People's Government of Hebei Province and the Administrative Committee of Xiong'An New Area as well as from UNICEF, Columbia University, Columbia Global Centers | Beijing, the Kofi Annan Foundation, the Hebei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and the Hebei Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission.

Xiong'An Forum

The three-day Forum convened world-class academicians, professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, doctors, and experts from all concerned fields worldwide, hosting two keynotes, eight panel discussions, and 14 dialogues to discuss tremendous challenges and unprecedented opportunities facing humanity to manage health and cure diseases.

Lee Goldman

Six CUIMC faculty members were invited to participate in the Forum, including Dr. Lee Goldman, Dr. Lawrence R. Stanberry, Dr. Rita Charon, Dr. David P. Roye, Jr., Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, and Dr. Andrew E. Moran. Dr. Roy Vagelos P&S '54 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award 2018 by the Shenzhen World Health Foundation.

Dr. Lee Goldman, Harold and Margaret Hatch Professor, Executive Vice President and Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine, and Chief Executive of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, delivered a keynote speech on the second day of the Forum, speaking on the implications for public health, modern medicine, and U.S. presidential elections.

Lee Goldman

Dr. Lawrence R. Stanberry, Associate Dean for International Programs and Director of the Global Health Initiative at Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, spoke at the panel discussion "Women & Children". Dr. Stanberry calls for a greater global awareness of the needs of the children, requiring development of protocols and policies to address the needs of children regarding the prevention, detection, and response to global infectious and disease threats.

Lawrence R. Stanberry

Dr. Rita Charon, Professor of Medical Humanities and Ethics and Chair at the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics, discussed bodies, biology, space, and time at the panel discussion "Innovation in Medical Knowledge and Treatment – Omics and Personalized Medicine".

Rita Charon

At the panel discussion "Promoting Health and Sustainable Development Through Innovation", Dr. David P. Roye, Jr., St. Giles Professor of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, shared his experiences in providing tools and leveraging U.S. resources and experience to Chinese healthcare professionals to improve the accessibility, affordability, quality of care in China through the International Healthcare Leadership (IHL) founded by him. He also talked about his stories in providing free diagnosis and surgeries in China in the past 20 years.

David P. Roye, Jr.

Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, John Snow Professor of Epidemiology, Professor of Neurology and Pathology and Cell Biology, and Director of the Center for Infection and Immunity, spoke on the control of infectious disease in a globalized world at the panel discussion "The Science of Pandemics & Infectious Disease". With his knowledge of China's development in epidemiology, Dr. Lipkin also highly praised China's achievements in factious disease control and in international assistance.

W. Ian Lipkin

At the panel discussion "Nutrition, Food Safety and Non-Communicable Diseases", Dr. Andrew E. Moran, Associate Professor of Medicine, addressed connections between dietary sodium and health. Dr. Moran concluded that lowering dietary sodium is a low-coast way to prevent cardiovascular disease in China and worldwide.

Andrew E. Moran

In the meantime, Dr. Belay Begashaw, Director General of the Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa and former Director of the Columbia Global Centers | Africa, shared examples of contextualizing healthcare innovation, research, and philanthropy in the SDGs.

Belay Begashaw

The Xiong'An International Health Forum is held biannually as a platform for summit-level dialogues and opinion exchanges among top professionals and experts from medical sciences, global health-relating industries, finance and concerned research institutions.

The purpose is to analyze development trends, give policy suggestions, explore the industrial regulations and criteria, build cross-sector connections, accelerate pragmatic cooperation throughout the global health chain, and promote the full implementation of the UN 2030 agenda.