Professor Wang Huali, the president of the Psychiatry and Mental Health Branch of the Chinese Geriatrics Society, has been awarded the World Health Organization's "Promoting Healthy Aging Award" for 2025.
Deeply engage in geriatric psychiatry and promote the full-process management of dementia
Professor Wang Huali has long been committed to the construction of an early screening, intervention and care support system for Alzheimer's disease. She advocated and practiced the concept of "comprehensive management of dementia", guided the establishment of over 200 memory clinics across the country, and promoted the standardized diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment. Meanwhile, she presided over the compilation of "Psychiatric Practice Guidance on the Diagnosis and Treatment Pathway of Early Alzheimer's Disease", and promoted the dementia care guidelines in 19 provinces, establishing a three-level prevention and control network of "hospital - community - family", significantly enhancing the prevention and treatment capacity of dementia in China.
Innovate the support model for caregivers and fulfill the mission of public welfare
As a pioneer in supporting dementia caregivers in China, Professor Wang Huali founded the first Dementia doctor-Patient Family Association in the country in 2000 and launched the "SUCCEED Project" in 2024, providing psychological counseling and skills training for caregivers. She announced that the prize money from this award would be donated to the project to reward "Model Caregivers of Memory Light" and advocate for social attention to the physical and mental health of caregivers.
Lead national policies and contribute global experience
Professor Wang Huali has been deeply involved in the formulation of China's "14th Five-Year Plan for Healthy Aging" and the "National Action Plan for Responding to Dementia in Old Age (2024-2030)", and has collaborated with the WHO to compile global guidelines for the prevention and treatment of dementia. The community interdisciplinary service model she promoted has been rolled out in 150 teams across 27 regions, providing a referenceable Chinese solution for the international community.
At the award ceremony, Professor Wang Huali said, "This honor belongs to all the colleagues who have been striving for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease in China, and it is even more inseparable from the guidance and support of the National Health Commission." She emphasized that in the future, the collaborative system of "three-level diagnosis and treatment - community support - family participation" will continue to be deepened, and international cooperation will be strengthened to contribute Chinese wisdom to global healthy aging.
She stated that she will continue to lead the Psychiatry and Mental Health Branch of the Chinese Geriatrics Society, persistently carry out scientific research and clinical transformation in the field of psychiatry and mental health, promote innovative practices in the strategy of actively responding to population aging, and contribute to achieving the goal of "Healthy China 2030".