XI'AN, China -- After a week of medical-related presentations, tours, and demonstrations the annual Asia Pacific Military Health Exchange (APMHE) ended here Sept. 21, 2018.
Throughout the course of the event over 600 medical professionals from 30 nations and international organizations participated in more than 200 presentations on regionally-focused health issues ranging from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) to gender equality.
“Great credit goes to those who worked on the various committees to organize this exceptional event,” said Rear Adm. Louis Tripoli, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Surgeon and co-host for this year’s APMHE.
The APMHE focuses on the entire military health team, including all corps and all services and this year’s theme was “Challenges and Solutions: Strengthening Global Health.”
Referring to the event’s theme in his closing remarks, the admiral observed that, “From what I have seen over the last week, we have made a good start in understanding the challenges and considering the solutions. There is a very good chance, perhaps a certainty, that natural disasters will continue to create challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, and I sincerely hope this conference will continue in its goals of developing regional cooperation and interoperability in healthcare for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.”
Now in its fourth iteration, the APMHE has been held annually by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and a co-host nation since 2015. This year’s event was held in Xi’an, which is among the oldest Chinese cities and considered the eastern departure point of the ancient Silk Road, making it a fitting choice for a regional multinational medical exchange.
Previous APMHE’s were held in Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.