Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday called on the international community to improve multilateral cooperation mechanisms for fighting communicable diseases.

 

"In recent years, frequent outbreaks of emerging communicable diseases, such as SARS and avian flu, together with the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, have posed a threat to people's health and lives," Hu said in a written speech to an outreach session of the G8 summit that opened on Monday morning in St. Petersburg.

 

"The international community should establish and improve multilateral cooperation mechanisms for preventing and controlling communicable diseases," he said.

 

"An overall plan should be promptly drawn up to fight avian flu and other communicable diseases. Scientific and standard prevention and control measures should be taken," Hu told the session.

 

He said technological exchange and cooperation should be deepened in a bid to achieve early breakthroughs in the basic research of communicable diseases.

 

Hu called for increased technological and financial support for those poor countries plagued by communicable diseases.

 

"High priority should be given to cooperation in epidemiology and prevention and control of avian flu, epidemic monitoring and diagnosis, R&D of vaccines and drug development so that all countries can benefit from scientific and technological achievements and experience in epidemic control," he noted.

 

"Anti-retroviral drugs should be made easily available through price reduction or patent transfer so that more HIV/AIDS patients will be treated," Hu said.

 

"Research, development and supply of inexpensive yet effective new anti-malaria drugs should be encouraged and supported to treat malaria patients and particularly those in Africa," he added.

 

Hu also stressed the importance of strengthening educational cooperation between developed and developing countries so as to promote social justice and enhance mutual understanding among different civilizations.

 

"For developing countries, speeding up the development of education and improving the educational level of the workforce will boost employment and economic growth and help narrow their gap in knowledge, human resources and skills," Hu said.

 

An exchange mechanism can be set up between the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations and developing countries as part of the efforts to promote international cooperation in education, he said.

 

He said China would be happy to host a symposium of presidents of research-oriented universities on international exchange and cooperation in education.

 

Highlighting the importance of "education for all" and "continuing education," Hu said UN agencies and other international organizations as well as bilateral aid programs should be encouraged to set them as priority goals.

 

Efforts should also be made to help developing countries improve capacity building in human resources development and ensure their equal participation in international cooperation and rule-making in education, he added.

 

The G8 leaders met with leaders of six developing countries -- Brazil, China, India, Mexico, the Republic of Congo and South Africa -- on Monday for the outreach session to discuss issues of common concern.

 

The discussion focused on energy security, fighting communicable diseases, education and Africa's development.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2006)