Enhancing Public Health Competencies via Action on Salt China

The Action on Salt China (ASC), funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research in the UK, has been working to improve public health capacity and reduce salt consumption in China. With the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention as a key partner, ASC aims to enhance China's public health services and provide inspiration for future international collaborations.

The high salt intake in China exceeds World Health Organisation recommendations, leading to increased hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The inadequate capacity of the public health workforce has been identified as one of the challenges to effectively implement salt reduction interventions on a large scale.

Led by a senior Steering Committee and supported by a strong multidisciplinary research team, ASC collaborates with various research institutes and partners at both national and regional levels. Over the past five years (2017-2022), ASC partners have made great efforts to improve the competencies and capabilities of public health professionals, as well as the non-health stakeholders to develop, implement and evaluate, and scale up the salt reduction interventions at various settings covering different populations, which have achieved significant outcomes and impacts not only in China but also globally. To sustain its impact, ASC will continue its contribution to advancing evidence-based salt reduction policies and NCD prevention and control work under the umbrella of the Healthy China Actions. 

Source: https://weekly.chinacdc.cn/en/article/doi/10.46234/ccdcw2023.137