Fighting against the common enemy of COVID-19: a practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has caused more than 80813 confirmed cases in all provinces of China,and 21110 cases reported in 93 countries of six continents as of 7 March 2020 since middle December 2019.Due to biological nature of the novel coronavirus,named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)with faster spreading and unknown transmission pattern,it makes us in a difficulty position to contain the disease transmission globally.To date,we have found it is one of the greatest challenges to human beings in fighting against COVID-19 in the history,because SARS-CoV-2 is different from SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV in terms of biological features and transmissibility,and also found the containment strategies including the non-pharmaceutical public health measures implemented in China are effective and successful.In order to prevent a potential pandemic-level outbreak of COVID-19,we,as a community of shared future for mankind,recommend for all international leaders to support preparedness in low and middle income countries especially,take strong global interventions by using old approaches or new tools,mobilize global resources to equip hospital facilities and supplies to protect noisome infections and to provide personal protective tools such as facemask to general population,and quickly initiate research projects on drug and vaccine development.We also recommend for the international community to develop better coordination,cooperation,and strong solidarity in the joint efforts of fighting against COVID-19 spreading recommended by the joint mission report of the WHO-China experts,against violating the International Health Regulation(WHO,2005),and against stigmatization,in order to eventually win the battle against our common enemy—COVID-19.

Determinants of China’s development assistance for health at the sub-national level of African countries(2006-2015)

Background:Despite the increasing interest in China’s development assistance for health(DAH)in African countries,little is known regarding the distribution and determinants of China’s DAH project allocation among the principle subdivisions(provinces&states)within African countries.Methods:We mapped the distribution of China’s DAH projects in 670 principle subdivisions of 50 African countries during 2006-2015 using web-based information.The political,demographic,health and socioeconomic indicators of DAH allocation were analyzed using conditional logistic regression models.The national capital city and political leader’s birth place were selected as the main political indicators,and health indicators were selected according to different fields of the DAH projects.Results:China’s DAH projects(mainly China medical teams[CMTs],hospitals and anti-malaria centers)were mostly allocated to the western and eastern coasts of Africa,although CMTs were also dispatched to northern Africa.National capital cities were significantly associated with the allocation of China’s DAH projects(P<0.001).Antimalaria centers were more likely to be allocated to principle subdivisions with larger populations(OR=1.35),and CMTs were allocated to subdivisions with high population densities(OR=79.01).No health-related indicators were identified to affect project allocation except for the facility delivery rate and under-five mortality rate,which were associated with hospital allocation.We also found an association between CMT allocation and the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy in children.Conclusions:Allocation of China’s DAH projects is strongly affected by political and demographic factors.Implementation of China’s new DAH projects should target health and socio-economic indicators and impact metrics in scaling up tailored and cost-effective programs in Africa.