In brief
On 7 November 2026, WHO inaugurated the Collaborating Center for Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention and Innovations at the Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University in Guangzhou. The center will conduct research, provide training, and develop point‑of‑care testing and surveillance tools, prioritising Africa and Southeast Asia. China’s recent medical cooperation activities reinforce the partnership, with WHO officials emphasising the center’s role in strengthening global STI governance.
On Saturday, 7 November 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially opened its Collaborating Center for Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Prevention and Innovations in Guangzhou, southern China’s Guangdong Province, according to a report by Xinhua.
The new hub, hosted by the Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University (SMU) and the SMU Institute for Global Health, is positioned to advance STI prevention and innovation worldwide. Yang Bin, the center’s director, described its mandate as conducting systematic international research, building capacity, and fostering testing innovation.
Yang Bin said the center will design a standardized training series that, by 2030, aims to train 100 senior STI prevention and control professionals who will be deployed to 15 low‑ and middle‑income countries, with a special emphasis on Africa and Southeast Asia.
In addition to training, the center plans to create three to five practical, scalable point‑of‑care testing strategies. It will also develop simple, user‑friendly data collection tools, pilot them in priority African nations, and build an operational data‑integration platform that aligns with international surveillance systems.
Hannah Monica Dias of WHO noted that the center would deepen engagement in developing relevant international guidelines, contribute additional research evidence, support global surveillance, and offer expert advice to enhance public‑health governance, as reported by Xinhua.
China’s commitment to multilateral health cooperation is evident in its 2025 record: the country dispatched 1,061 medical personnel to 57 countries, providing services to more than 2.06 million patients. It has also supported malaria control efforts across Africa and Southeast Asia, and under the China‑WHO Country Cooperation Strategy for 2022‑2026, expanded joint programmes such as people‑centred integrated healthcare delivery systems and schistosomiasis elimination in Cambodia and Laos.
The inauguration reflects a collaborative approach to STI control, combining WHO expertise with China’s on‑ground capabilities to strengthen global capacity against sexually transmitted infections.
