Strengthening Global Public Health Collaboration
From 2-11 June 2026, the Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, led by Assistant Professor Dr. Peeraya Ekchariyawat, Associate Dean for Strategic Communications, together with six graduate students selected to participate in the Graduate Student Exchange Program 2026, joined an academic exchange program at the School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University (KMU), People’s Republic of China, under the academic collaboration between the two institutions.
The delegation received a warm welcome from Prof. Yu Qiang, Vice President of KMU, Prof. Cai Le, Secretary of the Communist Party Committee, School of Public Health, and faculty members and representatives of Kunming Medical University.
The Graduate Student Exchange Program 2026 aims to promote international learning and collaboration in public health. The program provided graduate students with valuable opportunities to learn about China’s health system and primary healthcare services, as well as key public health issues in border and regional contexts across Asia. Topics included migrant health, cross-border infectious disease prevention and control mechanisms, traditional food sources and their relationship to health, and Implementation Science, an important field that focuses on translating research evidence into effective public health practice.
As part of the program, participants visited Kunming Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital (Chenggong), a nationally recognized specialized hospital providing comprehensive maternal and child healthcare services. The visit highlighted advanced diagnostic technologies, including molecular diagnostics, as well as the integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine with modern medical care, demonstrating China’s strong capacity in maternal and child health services.
The delegation also visited the Yunnan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Yunnan CDC), where they learned about disease surveillance systems, public health laboratories, and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which plays a critical role in managing public health emergencies and strengthening disease prevention and control across Yunnan Province and its border regions.
This exchange program provided an invaluable opportunity for graduate students to gain international perspectives beyond the classroom, deepen their understanding of global health systems, and engage in meaningful academic and cultural exchanges. The program further strengthened the partnership between the Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, and the School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, paving the way for future collaborations in education, research, and public health.
Update : June 11, 2026