Antigua & Barbuda health officials gain NCD expertise in China

Health officials from Antigua and Barbuda have returned from China after participating in specialised training aimed at improving the country’s response to non-communicable diseases.

The four-member team spent two weeks in Beijing learning about approaches used in China to prevent, detect and manage conditions such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular illnesses and chronic respiratory diseases.

The programme ran from September 10 to 23 and combined classroom sessions with visits to hospitals, health centres and other facilities involved in disease prevention and monitoring.

Particular attention was given to China’s Healthy China 2030 programme and how health data can be used to identify emerging challenges, shape interventions and assess their effectiveness.

The Antigua and Barbuda delegation also examined the growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare, including its application in patient monitoring, outpatient services and medication management.

The training was organised by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention with support from China’s Ministry of Commerce.