The second International Conference on Thalassemia and Birth Defects was held in Guangxi's Nanning on Oct 11, 2014, to promote prevention and control of thalassemia and birth defects. Sang Guowei, vice-chairman of the 11th National People's Congress Standing Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Wang Guoqiang, vice-minister of the NHFPC, attended the meeting and made a speech. Jiang Fan, chairman of the China Association for Maternal and Child Health Studies; Li Kang, vice-chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region; and a representative from the Thalassemia International Federation were present at the meeting.

In his speech, Sang Guowei pointed out that the international community has paid great attention to birth defect prevention. The Chinese government has always focused on birth defect prevention and newborn population quality. Years of effort have helped strengthen the national birth defect prevention and control system. Prevention measures have been effectively implemented; work mechanisms have gradually been built; and service fairness and accessibility have improved significantly, according to Sang. He said that China will continue to consolidate and strengthen international exchanges and cooperation in birth defect prevention, enhance experience-sharing with other countries and regions, deepen birth defects prevention and control work, and improve public health.

Wang Guoqiang stressed that in recent years, the Chinese government has carried out major public health service projects for progestation, pregnancy and newborns, producing positive results. Wang asked all parties to make full efforts in birth defect prevention and to vigorously promote thalassemia prevention and control projects. Wang also urged relevant personnel to strengthen publicity and education, establish and improve work mechanisms, and improve service quality. Wang said that we should adhere to the people-oriented principle, make use of national free eugenics examinations, and offer thalassemia screening and diagnostic services to couples who are about to have a baby to promote early prevention and improve birth quality.