Recently, the South and Southeast Asia Medical Education and Service Alliance Forum and the 2024 Academic Annual Meeting of the National Local Colleges and Universities Medical Humanities Education Alliance were held at Kunming Medical University. As the chair institution of the South and Southeast Asia Medical Education and Healthcare Alliance, Chancellor Fan Xianqun of, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered a video speech at the opening ceremony. Zhao Wenhua, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of SJTUSM, attended the conference and delivered a keynote report.

In his speech, Chancellor Fan warmly congratulated the successful hosting of the forum and thanked the host institution, Kunming Medical University, for its hard work in organizing the forum and supporting the development of the alliance. He expressed hope that the in-depth discussions and exchanges during the forum would contribute to promoting the high-quality development of alliance member institutions and make new, greater contributions to the creation of a global health community.

Government officials from the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, Yunnan Provincial Health Commission, Yunnan Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, and leaders from institutions including the Nepal Academy of Medical Sciences, University of Health Sciences Pakistan, University of Health Sciences Laos, Mandalay Medical University Myanmar, Prince of Songkla University Faculty of Medicine Thailand, and Wenzhou Medical University attended the opening ceremony.

After the opening ceremony, Deputy Secretary Zhao Wenhua of SJTUSM delivered a keynote report titled "Accelerating the Development of New Medical Disciplines to Support Building a Strong Educational Nation." In his report, Zhao discussed three main topics: medical education in the context of national development, the need to accelerate the development of new medical disciplines, and how to speed up the development of new medical disciplines. He introduced the current state of medical education in China, analyzed the gap between medical disciplines and world-class disciplines, and pointed out the new opportunities and challenges facing medical education in the new era. He called on member institutions of the alliance to work together to meet the challenges of the technological revolution, strengthen the development of top-tier medical disciplines, and contribute to the advancement of human health.

This conference was part of the 2024 “People-to-People Friendship · Education Cooperation” series of premium activities in Yunnan Province and was hosted by Kunming Medical University. The conference included four parallel forums on topics such as infectious disease prevention and control, behavior and health, environment and health, and medical humanities education. Experts and scholars from 11 universities and medical institutions across eight countries in South and Southeast Asia, along with 53 institutions from China, gathered to focus on issues related to healthcare and medical humanities education, engaging in academic discussions and dialogue. The conference aimed to offer suggestions and strategies for improving the educational standards of universities in both China and South and Southeast Asia, contributing to the building of a global health community.

Founded in 2019 by Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and Kunming Medical University, the South and Southeast Asia Medical Education and Service Alliance has, over the past five years, grown in scale with the strong support and active participation of its members. The alliance has carried out a series of effective collaborations in areas such as medical talent cultivation, scientific research, academic exchanges, and medical technology training. Its influence continues to grow, and it has become an important platform for promoting cooperation between Chinese medical universities and those in South and Southeast Asia in the fields of medical education and healthcare.