Sanofi – the world's leading healthcare company – has recently announced the launch of the Sanofi China Health Road Project.

The project is expected to cover seven China's Belt and Road cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi'an) in the fourth quarter of 2018 through six subprojects. By 2020, the project will cover 94 percent of the area along the Belt and Road in China.

Jean-Christophe Pointeau, country chair of Sanofi China, said: "The launch of Sanofi China Health Road Project is another strong proof of Sanofi's commitment of In China, For China. China has 300 million patients with chronic diseases, which are responsible for more than 85 percent of deaths. I believe, by working with partners, the projects will greatly help to improve primary healthcare and eventually bring benefits to the health of the Chinese people."

Anne BRUANT-BISSON, Counselor for Health and Social Affairs of French Embassy to China, said at the launch ceremony that the Sanofi China Health Road Project is a new and major step in Sino-French cooperation in the field of primary healthcare. Such an initiative is totally fitting into the Healthy China 2030 Government's plan while contributing to global cooperation China's and France's Health Ministers have agreed to enhance.

The Sanofi China Health Road Project is a comprehensive, multi-layered long-term program that targets the primary healthcare sector in China. Sanofi has teamed up with its partners to bring high-quality innovative drugs, vaccines and leading disease management models to provinces and cities along the Belt and Road, while improving the capability and expertise of community health practitioners (CHPs), introducing quality medical resources at the grassroots level, and fostering primary health management and services in a bid to boost the accessibility of high-quality medical care.

As a sustainable project, the Sanofi China Health Road Project is expected to cover seven Belt and Road cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi'an) in the fourth quarter of 2018. More than 1,700 training sessions and other events will be held, involving nearly 2,000 community and county-level hospitals. The project will engage at least 6,000 community residents in related health education activities.

In 2019, the Sanofi China Health Road Project will be expanded to 14 cities in 12 provinces along the Belt and Road. By 2020, the project will cover 94 percent of the area along the Belt and Road in China.

Introducing robotic doctor assistants to fully leverage artificial intelligence

Notably, the Sanofi China Health Road Project will leverage leading technologies (big data, artificial intelligence, etc.) and innovative platforms (iHealth station and M-robots) to bring advanced medical resources and innovative solutions to China's primary healthcare sector.

In addition, medical word recognition through artificial intelligence-based interaction engines, as well as the Knowledge Base and Dialogue Library for diseases, will help foster patient education and management of chronic diseases and introduce digital technologies. Consequently, community and county hospitals will have professional doctor assistants who are online around the clock.