The First Forum on Surveillance Response System Leading to Tropical Diseases Elimination was held in Shanghai on 16-17June, 2012 with the joint effort of National Institute of Parasitic Disease Prevention &Control, China CDC, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and WHO. Dr. Wang Longde, Academician, Chairman of Chinese Association of Preventive Medicine, Dr Lei Zhenglong, deputy director general of China Disease Control Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Michael OLeary- Director of WHO Beijing Office, Dr. Marcel Tanner- director of Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Dr. Wang Yu-director general of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Yang Weizhong- deputy director general of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Wang Panshi, Deputy Director, the Bureau of Public Health of Shanghai Municipality attended the forum and delivered speeches on the opening ceremony.

The forum overviewed the current situation of tropical diseases, national and international strategies towards elimination; comparatively assessed prevailing strategies and novel approaches required to achieve elimination and discussed how to establish effective surveillance-response systems, all of which developed a collaboration and resource-sharing platform for China and global disease elimination efforts.

In the form of keynote speech, leading presentation and parallel session, the participating experts made in-depth communication and discussion on the current challenges and response measures. According to the speeches and discussion of the participants, effective surveillance-response systems are suppose to be one of the main interfere measures for all the countries on the process of elimination. Only by developing effective surveillance-response system can we access to the first hand information of prevalence, prevention and control situation so as to provide effective and reliable information of public health and take quick response to every case and make sure of the realization of our target and consolidation of current achievements.
On the forum, the participating experts showed their appreciation on the great achievements of China’s tropical disease prevention and control and expressed their strong interests in the progress of China’s recent year’s surveillance and response system for parasitic diseases, furthermore, they provide various advices and suggestions for the development of this system and made a quick evaluation of our potential working capabilities and disease-priorities. Meanwhile, both agenda for research and verification of surveillance and response system leading to novel disease elimination and plan of multilateral region disease elimination action were discussed. We hope that China will extend the research cooperation, on the basis of current aid for Africa, to other tropical diseases through various methods.

Over 100 guests participated in this forum including experts from: China Disease Control Bureau of the Ministry of Health, China CDC, World Health Organization, TDR, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, USA CDC, University of California, Berkeley, University of Queensland, The University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Taiwan Cheng Kung University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shan Dong University, the Second Military Medical University, Nan Jing Medical University, Beijing Institute of Tropical Medicine, etc.