China-SCO Platform Launched in Shanghai to Tackle Metabolic Diseases

The China-SCO Center for Metabolic Disease was officially inaugurated on Friday at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai. The new facility establishes a national-level platform aimed at enhancing collaboration on metabolic disease management and health cooperation among member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The Center will offer a comprehensive range of services, including medical aid, professional training, technical assistance and transfer, and industrial technology exchange. Its key objectives include training 2,000 professionals in metabolic disease control within three years, facilitating the sharing of 500 medical technologies across the region, and organizing international medical forums.

Metabolic disease patients within SCO member states account for half of the global patient population. Conditions such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and tumors are responsible for over 70 percent of deaths and have become the leading cause of mortality from non-communicable diseases within the SCO.

The MMC model has become the world's largest diabetes prevention and control program and represents a replicable and promotable Chinese solution for other countries.

Dr Ning Guang, president of Ruijin Hospital

Ruijin Hospital has already developed a successful National Metabolic Management Center (MMC) model. This model has been implemented in 2,068 hospitals across China, covering more than 3.5 million patients. As a result, treatment quality data for patients meeting a healthy metabolic level has improved from 7 percent to 21 percent, and the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events has dropped by 11 percent, saving an estimated 2.32 billion yuan (US$338 million) in medical costs annually.

"The MMC model has become the world's largest diabetes prevention and control program and represents a replicable and promotable Chinese solution for other countries," said Dr Ning Guang, president of Ruijin Hospital.

"Through this newly established center, we aim to build an SCO metabolic health community. This will be achieved by creating a regionally coordinated monitoring and early warning network, establishing training centers for staff on metabolic and chronic diseases, sharing best practices in prevention and control, and developing effective technologies in this field," Ning explained. "The center will serve as an international medical service base, a hub for dual-track talent training, a research base for disease strategy, and a platform for pharmaceutical technology cooperation."

Officials from the Shanghai Health Commission highlighted that Shanghai is one of the Chinese cities with the most abundant medical resources and the highest level of medical capability. The city is home to 6,566 medical facilities with 203,000 beds, handling over 278 million outpatient and emergency visits annually.

In the field of metabolic disease management, Shanghai has established a comprehensive system for prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment, offering an integrated, whole-lifecycle approach to patient care.