Annual report 03-2017 to 03-2018

1. Annual report on the agreed workplan

Describe the progress made on the agreed workplan. For each activity, detail (1) the actions taken, (2) the outputs delivered, as well as (3) any difficulties that may have been encountered. Three responses are expected. [maximum 200 words per activity]. Indicate, if an activity has been completed previously, has not yet started or has been placed on hold.

Activity 1

Title: Promote the public understanding of TM practice and products

Description: Traditional forms of medicine are normally used in a holistic context involving lifestyle changes, customers need to be aware of the risks and benefits of traditional medicine practice and products to make informed decisions about their health choice. The activity intends to introduce Chinese Medicine through Confucius Institute, a collaborative project with RMIT University in Australia established to promote the study of Chinese culture and language.

The center continued to explore new modes of combining Chinese language teaching together with Chinese medicine by setting up the Chinese Language in a Chinese Medicine Clinical Setting course in the Chinese Medicine Confucius Institute (CMCI). The course was warmly welcomed by RMIT students who intend to experience TCM clinical practice in Nanjing.

The CMCI organized various activities including regular visits to Chinese Medicine Herbal Garden for RMIT staff/students and external visitors, free quality Chinese medicine consultation and treatments in the teaching clinic, Chinese Materia Medica Photo Exhibition, Chinese Medicine Knowledge Competition and Taiji boxing training. The cultural activities contributed to enhance the understanding and recognition of traditional medicine among all walks of life in Australia. Last year, about 60 cultural activities were organized in RMIT and the local communities and the total number of the participants was around 2000. 

Activity 2

Title: Develop and provide training programs and opportunities of TM

Description: It is important that traditional medicine providers have sufficient knowledge to assess advantages and limitations, and have confidence in the quality, safety and effectiveness of traditional medicine. The activity intends to develop diverse education programs in traditional medicine and provide training opportunities as appropriate at the request of WHO Headquarters and Regional Office for health care providers and relevant researchers at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine.

As one of the earliest China’s TCM institution approved by the Ministry of Education to enroll and train students from foreign countries and Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau regions, the center received the first batch of overseas students to learn Chinese medicine since 1957. In the last year, the center received 1,933 overseas students in total learning Chinese medicine and Acupuncture from 45 countries and regions. Of them, there were 1,460 students involved in degree programs, 473 involved in non-degree programs including short-term training program and advanced training program. 

In the meanwhile, the center opens joint Chinese medicine degree programs including Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees with the following higher education institutions overseas, Western Sydney University, RMIT University, John?Jenny College in Canada, Shulan TCM College in UK, Swiss Academy of Chinese Medical Science, Rangsit University in Thailand, Singapore TCM College, Philippine Makati University, etc. Of those programs, the center assisted Philippine Makati University and pioneered to offer the first Bachelor’s degree program in Chinese medicine in Philippine, and will admit students from the year 2018. 

Activity 3

Title: Strengthen working relations with WHO/HQ, WHO/RO and other WHO CCs

Description: WHO Executive Board encourages WHO CCs to develop working relations with other centres by creating or joining collaborative networks. Region or country specific efforts have also been included in this network. For better alignment with WHO programs, the activity intends to introduce new synergies and peer-to-peer opportunities for WHO CCs through network establishment within and between countries.

In the last year, the center was involved with WHO collaborative networks in the following events. 

   Inviting experts to comment on the WHO draft for technical document on clinical research in traditional and complementary medicine in September, 2017;  Undertaking a China-WHO Biennial Collaborative Project 2016-2017 Research on the Practice and Policy Guarantee of Traditional Medical Service System Construction in China. The project has passed the middle-stage appraisal;  Holding the 2017 joint conference for China’s International Acupuncture Training Centers in November, 2017, discussing and communicating over the  construction of clinical practice bases and the improvement of clinical education quality. 

   Associate Professor Liu Qin of our center renewed his appoint as Officer in the headquarter of WHO for another year. 

Activity 4

Title: Enhance cooperation and exchange between countries in respect of TM

Description: The inherited information on traditional medicine practice and products from various countries is an important cultural resource to be treasured, which is still highly scattered at present. The activity intends to encourage cooperation and exchange for training, research and information to facilitate the harmonization of traditional medicine.

1) To conduct Chinese medicine degree program collaboration 

In 2017, the center has signed a total of 40 copies of collaboration agreements for Chinese medicine degree programs including Bachelor, Master and Doctorate with the following higher education institutions, Western Sydney University, California Baptist University in USA, John?Jenny College in Canada, Swiss Academy of Chinese Medical Science, European Academy of Chinese Traditional Culture in France, Shenzhou Open University of TCM in Netherlands, Singapore TCM College, Rangsit University in Thailand, Makati University in Philippine, etc. In the meantime, the center established the Canada and California, USA branches of its International Jingfang Institute, conducting 43 overseas Jingfang lectures and providing Jingfang medical training to more than 2,000 students, in an effort to make the Chinese medicine original thinking and clinical efficacy understood and known to more foreign public. 

2) To conduct scientific research collaboration in Chinese medicine

In 2017, the center deepened the collaboration and communication with governmental agencies and higher education institutions by conducting multi-level international academic exchanges and scientific collaborations through various ways and methods with an aim to strengthen international concerted innovation. With the support from the Jiangsu provincial government and the Victoria state government, the center signed Collaboration Memorandum for Jiangsu-Victoria TCM Center with RMIT University, to jointly build Chinese Medicine Research Center. The center launched the Sydney Plan with Western Sydney University, signing the agreement of China-Australia Institute for Well-being Promotion, signed the framework agreement with Prof. Wu Guangyu from Georgia Medical School, Augusta University to jointly establish the research center for Receptor function and drug study, discussed in depth with Tasmania University on the construction of global quality Chinese herbal resource base, with the Nobel Prize laureate Prof. Barry J. Marshall from the University of Western Australia to study into the mechanism of Chinese medicine dealing with Helicobacter pylori, with the Jiangsu Tian Sheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to build a Sino-Uzbekistan TCM Center. The center launched the application for Chinese medicine herbal prescription Banxia Houpu Soup to the Ministry of Health in Canada. The center vigorously promoted the collaboration in editing the Chinese medicine clinical treatment guidelines, and joined the efforts to apply for governmental support from China and Singapore. 

3) Construction of overseas TCM centers

In 2017, the center’s three national-level overseas TCM centers, Sino-Australian Chinese Medicine Center, Sino-Swiss Chinese Medicine Center, Sino-French Chinese Medicine Center (jointly built with Australian Education Management Group, TCM Ming Dao Group in Switzerland, AP-HP in France respectively) have all successfully passed the assessment organized by the State Administration of TCM (SATCM) of P. R. China. The Sino-Swiss Chinese Medicine Center has been recommended to share the construction experience in SATCM’s seminar for its well-performed construction. In the meantime, the center strengthened the build-up of its Sino-British Chinese Medicine Center in collaboration with Shulan College of Chinese Medicine, UK and Sino-German Chinese Medicine Center in collaboration with iTCM-Klinik Illertal GmbH in Germany.

Additionally, the center has been approved by the SATCM to establish two bases for international TCM collaboration, one is “One Belt, One Road” International TCM Collaboration Base, and the other is Chinese Herbal Cultivation and Standardized Production for High Quality Medicinal Material Base in Tasmania, Australia.

4) Holding International Academic Conferences

In 2017, the center held a series of international academic conferences such as the Third Sino-Italy Seminar on Active Natural Products and the First International Medicinal Chemistry Forum, The First Yearly Academic Conference of TCM Legalization Promotion Committee of WFCMS and the Seminar on China’s Practices of Including Traditional Medicine to National Health System, and the Second Jiangsu-Canton Chinese Medicine Theories and International Forum of Pharmacology Research Forefront. The above international academic conferences have deepened the communication and collaboration of worldwide scholars and experts in the field of traditional Chinese medicine.

2. Annual report on other activities requested

Should WHO have requested activities in addition to the agreed workplan, please describe related actions taken by your institution [maximum 200 words]. Please do not include in this report any activity done by your institution that was not requested by and agreed with WHO. 

3. Resources

Indicate staff time spent on the implementation of activities agreed with WHO (i.e. those mentioned in questions no. 1 and no. 2 above). Do not include any data related to other activities done by your institution without the agreement of WHO. Please indicate staff time using the number of “full-day equivalents” – a day of work comprising 8 hours (e.g. 4 hours work per day for 7 days should be recorded as 3.5 full-day equivalents).

Number of staff involved (either partially or fully)

Number of full-day equivalents, total for all staff involved

Implementation of the agreed workplan activities (i.e. those mentioned in questions no. 1 and no. 2 above) normally require resources beyond staff-time, such as the use of laboratory facilities, purchasing of materials, travel, etc. Please estimate the costs of these other resources as a percentage of the total costs incurred (e.g. if you incurred costs of USD 100 and the value of your staff time was USD 50 which makes the total of USD 150, please report 33.3% and 66.7%).

4. Networking

Describe any interactions or collaboration with other WHO Collaborating Centres in the context of the implementation of the agreed activities If you are part of a network of WHO Collaborating Centres, please also mention the name of the network and describe your involvement in that network [maximum 200 words].

Our center held the 2017 joint conference for China’s International Acupuncture Training Centers in November, 2017, discussing and communicating over the construction of clinical practice bases and the improvement of clinical education quality. 

Our center cooperated with RMIT University, Australia, another WHO Collaborating Center to jointly construct Jiangsu-Victoria TCM Center. The two centers have signed a Collaboration Memorandum to promote the cooperation of education, research and medical service in the field of Chinese medicine. Since March, 2017, the research team from both sides have conducted three in-depth discussions in both Melbourne and Nanjing, and have finalized the joint research project named as “Drug Discovery for Anti-metabolism Diseases Based on Natural Resources”, beginning the all-round collaboration in joint research, paper publication, drug discovery, technology transfer and share, as well as joint tutoring for postgraduate students.