From August 12 to 13, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Health Working Group held its 2nd conference in Beijing. About 80 representatives from APEC members, APEC Secretariat and other APEC groups attended.

Under the theme of "Healthy Asia-Pacific in 2020", the conference reviewed the progress of the working plans in the first half of this year. It discussed an independent appraisal report of the APEC Health Working Group, the progress of a key performance index, the new program’s ranking optimization as well as a document to be submitted to an APEC ministry-level meeting and informal economic leaders’meeting.

The Health Working Group discussed health cooperation issues with APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum, the Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy Working Group and the cross-sector APEC Business Advisory Council. It also reviewed the implementation of current programs.

In the conference, it elected Dr Teodoro Herbosa, the undersecretary of the department of Health of the Philippines as the vice-president of the Health Working Group for the period of 2015-2016. It approved the initiative of “Healthy Asia-Pacific in 2020”, and will submit the proposal to APEC’s high-level meeting and the informal economic leader’s meeting.

The conference was presided over by Li Mingzhu, the president of the Health Working Group and deputy director of NHFPC’s department of international cooperation. Members of the Chinese delegation in the conference come from NHFPC’s international cooperation department, emergency office, publicity department, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and National Health Development Research Center.

Established in 2007, the APEC Health Working Group was a special working mechanism for health cooperation under the frame of APEC.