Originally scheduled to be held in Qingdao in June, the second Global Health Forum of the Boao Forum for Asia has been postponed to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A video meeting for the conference's preparation work was held on June 2.

Ban Ki-moon, chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, attended the meeting.

In his speech, Ban said that the casualties and consequences of COVID-19 pandemic can be unprecedentedly high, and crises of a global scale call for responses of a global scale.

Ban Ki-moon, chairman of Boao Forum for Asia, speaks during the online meeting. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

He pointed out that the outbreak and the complexity of the situation justifies the value and necessity of the establishment of the Global Health Forum under the framework of the Boao Forum for Asia, which provides another important platform for information-sharing, idea-inspiring and action-planning.

Li Baodong, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia, said that the virus respects no borders and the current situation highlights the lack of an effective global health governance and emergency response system.

Li Baodong, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia, delivers a speech at the meeting. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

He added that the GHF of the BFA has provided a high-level platform of communication and cooperation for political, business and academic communities around the globe.

Wang Qingxian, Party secretary of Qingdao, said that Qingdao will continue to prepare for the conference to ensure its success.

Wang Qingxian, Party secretary of Qingdao [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wang also expressed hopes of seeing an early end to the COVID-19 situation so that everyone can gather in Qingdao as soon as possible.

Public health experts and scholars from around the world also shared their experiences and insights against the disease at the online meeting.