Tropical medicine is a branch of medicine that focuses on the health issues that are unique to tropical and subtropical regions. A tropical medicine academic journal would provide a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners working in the field. It is necessary to strengthen academic communications in tropical medicine, expand international perspectives and promote the joint development of Chinese and English journals in China. For this purpose, the 2022 National Forum on the Development of Academic Journals in Tropical Medicine was held in Haikou on 20 November 2022 under the theme of "Promoting the Prevention and Control of Tropical Diseases with the Concept of One Health". This forum was attended by more than 40 participants including: Zhou Xiaonong, Director and Li Shizhu, Deputy Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, CCDC/NIPD) and Wang Lu, Deputy Director of the Hainan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC), as well as members of 16 Chinese and English tropical medicine journals in China. The forum was co-chaired by Researcher Li Shizhu, Editor-in-Chief Wang Shanqing, Proprietor Li Jing.
Firstly, the opening speech was delivered by Professor Zhou Xiaonong (CCDC/NIPD). He commented that the purpose of establishing the journal was to provide a platform for readers and authors to present and communicate, and thus to promote the discipline. Different journals have different characteristics and specialise in different areas of research, and regular communication could facilitate mutual progress. Professor Wang Lu (HCDC) delivered a welcome speech, hoping that this forum would act as a bridge of exchange, integrating research findings and implementation experiences to promote ecological balance and sustainable development, with the One Health concept at its core.
Presidents/Editors-in-Chief/Editors-in-Chief of academic journals related to tropical medicine shared their experiences and developments, and held discussions based on future developments. There was a consensus among the participating experts that:
Finally, Professor Li Shizhu concluded that the core of the One Health approach is collaboration, capacity building, coorbination and communication (4C). This is also the main achievement of this forum, and we hope that this forum will become a classic project for tropical medicine in China, promoting communication for the development of the discipline. Of course, we are currently facing many difficulties, including a lack of submissions and poor quality of manuscripts. This requires us to unite the resources around us to improve the overall level of the discipline and reach sustainable development. We could create a collection of fine tropical medicine journals in China by working together.
