China News Service, Kunming, November 12 (Shi Wenzhi) The 2026 Southeast Asian Thalassemia Prevention and Control Alliance academic seminar opened in Kunming on the 12th. More than a hundred clinical experts and scientific researchers from China and Southeast Asian countries conducted exchanges around new technologies and regional cooperation mechanisms for the prevention and treatment of thalassemia (thalassemia), and discussed how scientific research innovation can connect the service needs of the whole chain of "screening-diagnosis-treatment".
On November 12, the International Thalassemia Federation and the Southeast Asian Thalassemia Prevention and Control Alliance signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation.
Thalassemia is a type of hereditary blood disease caused by globin gene defects. The incidence rate is high in Southeast Asian countries. Yunnan is one of the provinces with the highest incidence rate in China. In November 2025, the Southeast Asia Thalassemia Prevention and Control Alliance was established to build a comprehensive thalassemia prevention and control network covering Southeast Asia through a transnational coordination mechanism.
Yang Jianqiu, a second-level inspector of the Yunnan Provincial Health Commission, said that the province has always regarded the prevention and control of thalassemia as a priority in the comprehensive prevention and treatment of birth defects, insisting on giving priority to prevention and moving the checkpoint forward. In the future, we will play a bridge role in thalassemia prevention and control cooperation between China and Southeast Asian countries, and jointly carry out joint research and personnel training.
Song Zheng, deputy director of the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, has proposed that he hopes to build a long-term mechanism for regional thalassemia cooperation through joint research, regular talent training and cross-border case referral coordination, and form a stable and sustainable collaboration network for thalassemia prevention and control in Southeast Asia.
Michael Angastiniotis, medical consultant to the International Thalassemia Federation, suggested that health management departments in various countries can learn from China's experience and focus on promoting epidemiological surveys and hierarchical diagnosis and treatment network construction to lay the foundation for systematic planning for sustainable disease prevention and control services.
Zilfalil Bin Alwi, a professor at the Human Genome Center of the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sains Malaysia, pointed out that genomic technology can significantly improve the diagnosis and management of thalassemia, but there are still gaps in technology accessibility between regions. He hopes to rely on Chinese universities and research institutes to carry out special technical training to strengthen regional genomic capacity building for thalassemia prevention and control.
This seminar was hosted by the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province and the National Health Commission's Western Key Laboratory of Eugenics and Birth Defects Prevention and Control, and co-organized by BGI. The conference lasts for one and a half days and includes an opening ceremony, keynote speech, high-level dialogue and special reports. During this period, the International Thalassemia Federation and the Southeast Asian Thalassemia Prevention and Control Alliance signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation.
