Former World Bank President and WHO Advisor Jim Yong Kim Advocates Global Collaboration to Advance Public Health

Jim Yong Kim, 12th President of the World Bank and Former Advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization

On October 24, 2020, the 2nd World Conference on Internet Industry of Traditional Chinese Medicine (WCIICM 2020) grandly opened in Jinan. Themed “Hometown of Bian Que • Healthy Jinan: Development of the Internet-Enabled Big Health Industry for Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Post-Pandemic Era,” the conference provided an integrated platform for cooperation, exchange, and application discussions spanning industry, academia, research, and clinical practice. Top experts, scholars, industry leaders, and industrial representatives from around the world participated both online and offline, jointly exploring the high-quality integrated development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the internet industry, promoting global innovation in the TCM sector, and cultivating new drivers for TCM development.

Jim Yong Kim, the 12th President of the World Bank and former advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization, attended the conference online and delivered a speech.

Jim Yong Kim stated that through this conference, he has sensed the industry’s ambition to develop traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), as well as the conference’s focus on TCM’s global role in the post-pandemic era. Kim noted that he was trained as an infectious disease specialist and served as a professor of medicine and public health; during his tenures at the World Health Organization and the World Bank, he participated in global efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, cholera, and Ebola. He believes that addressing the COVID-19 pandemic requires the dedication and collaboration of all healthcare professionals to advance global epidemic control and economic recovery.

Jim Yong Kim believes that, after years of exploration and practice, health professionals have come to understand that responding to epidemics requires implementing critical public health measures—including testing, epidemiological investigations, and isolation of confirmed cases—as well as providing effective and humane treatment for patients.

Upholding the multilateral system is a key priority for Jim Yong Kim. He believes that the World Health Organization (WHO) serves as a vital platform for all countries and should be actively supported in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jim Yong Kim stated that there is no doubt the public needs a strong World Health Organization (WHO) to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases that may pose challenges in the future. He noted that Chinese doctors are collaborating with their counterparts and public health experts in Western countries.

At the conference, Jim Yong Kim also put forward several suggestions:

First, adopt the highest standards for the treatment of COVID-19, and apply the highest standards to ensure the safety and efficacy of vaccines;

Second, we must commit to helping every country establish healthcare and public health systems;

Third, responding to the pandemic is a shared global responsibility that requires worldwide cooperation and action;

Fourth, it is hoped that the industry will identify more avenues for collaboration, as physicians, scholars, and public health experts in China and Western countries all need to engage in cooperative efforts.

At the same time, we call on everyone to make every effort to combat our common enemies: infectious diseases, lack of medical resources, and poverty.

Finally, Jim Yong Kim expressed his gratitude to the medical professionals in attendance and expressed confidence that the conference would help advance patient care, scientific progress, collaboration, and research—precisely what the world urgently needs.