China CDC Hosts Public Health Institute of Mongolia for Study Tour
As part of an ambitious new plan to develop and expand its capacity to detect and manage disease outbreaks and other public health threats, the Public Health Institute of Mongolia (PHIM) will receive long-term expert advice and guidance through a new partnership with the leadership and key technical staff of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC).
The partnership was launched with a unique three-day consultation funded through IANPHI’s peer-to-peer program, which links NPHIs for technical advice and support, along with generous contributions of time and expertise from China CDC.
China CDC will assist PHIM in developing strategies for strengthening public health services to remote areas and vulnerable populations. The two institutes plan to partner on strategies that will help PHIM to develop educational campaigns, engage the private sector and raise funds for public health activities. There is also an interest in working together on policy changes and establishing and strengthening various surveillance systems.
Dr. Tsogtbaatar Byambaa, director of PHIM, set the tone for the event by saying that “the Public Health Institute of Mongolia aims to make friends, partner and grow from this visit."
Dr. Byambaa plans to expand and develop PHIM into a CDC-like institute over time and noted that visits to China, the United States CDC and Korea CDC will help Mongolia achieve the goals the institute has set for the coming years. A memorandum of understanding being developed with China CDC will include joint study and knowledge dissemination, learning from the management structure of CDC and its functions, establishing an Asian network of IANPHI, and capacity building.
The visit was significant not only for the public-health communities but also for building relationships between the two countries. In the words of Dr. Byambaa: “Infectious diseases have no borders. Neither will we.”