Institute of Philanthropy participates at 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva The following is issued on behalf of the Institute of Philanthropy

A delegation from the Institute of Philanthropy (“IoP”) – a charitable organisationestablished by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and its Charities Trust in September 2023 – participated in programmes surrounding the 77th World Health Assembly being heldfrom 26 May to 1 June in Geneva, Switzerland. The World Health Assembly is thehighest body for setting global health policy and the forum through which the WorldHealth Organization (“WHO”) is governed by its 194 member states.

The IoP delegation took part in the launch of Investment Round – a new mechanism tomobilise sustainable financing for the WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work,2025-2028. Under the theme “All for Health, Health for All”, the launch wasannounced by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World HealthOrganization. It convened high-level representatives from member states, internationalorganisations and philanthropic foundations.

At the launch, the IoP announced its donation of a first tranche of US$1.23 million(HK$9.6 million) to support WHO efforts to safeguard the health of migrant anddisplaced populations affected by climate change. This collaboration underscores theIoP’s commitment to address global health challenges in the context of climate change.

Dr Gabriel Leung, Director of the Institute of Philanthropy and Executive Director,Charities and Community of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, speaks at the launch of the World Health Organization’s Investment Round.

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Director of the Institute of Philanthropy and CEO ofThe Hong Kong Jockey Club, said the donation was a milestone for the IoP as the firstproject it has supported led by a United Nations specialised agency. Through thisdonation, the IoP is aiming to help address the critical issue of health arising fromclimate change in keeping with its mission to support globally impactful projects.

The IoP’s donation to the WHO was announced by Dr Gabriel Leung, Director of theInstitute of Philanthropy and Executive Director, Charities and Community of TheHong Kong Jockey Club, at the Investment Round launch.

The IoP also partnered the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to co-sponsor a side eventon pandemic preparedness in support of the Global Health Emergency Corps (“GHEC”).The GHEC was launched by the WHO and its partners at the 76th World HealthAssembly in May 2023 to strengthen collaboration and emergency response levelsacross countries and health networks.

Dr Christopher Elias, President, Global Development at the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation (centre), and Dr Gabriel Leung, Director of the Institute of Philanthropyand Executive Director, Charities and Community of The Hong Kong Jockey Club(right), speak at a side event co-sponsored by the foundation and the IoP.

Dr Michael Ryan, Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organization,delivered opening remarks at the side event, while Dr Leung and Dr Christopher Elias,President, Global Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, both deliveredaddresses. Attendees included members of national delegations, representatives ofmultilateral organisations and philanthropic foundations.

Throughout the duration of the Assembly, the IoP delegation held a series of bilateralmeetings with the Deputy Director-General, Assistant Directors-General and othersenior WHO leadership to exchange views on global health issues of common concern.

In recognition of the need for multilateral co-operation to safeguard global health andaddress the health impact of climate change, the IoP has undertaken the following steps:

• Signed a formal Statement of Collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation onthe occasion of the first-ever Health Day at COP28 to strengthen global healthresilience to climate change.

• Is collaborating with the National Health Commission to enhance humanresources for health and develop top medical and health-care talent in China.

• Is supporting the University of Cambridge’s Trinity Challenge on AntimicrobialResistance, which promotes collaboration and innovation in addressing thehealth needs of low- and middle-income jurisdictions that lack community-leveldata on antimicrobial resistance.

DH follows up on medical incident reported by Tuen Mun Hospital

In response to Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH)'s announcement of a sentinel event, the Department of Health (DH) today (May 15) said that the DH is investigating the incident and following up with the local responsible person (LRP) of the medical device concerned.

On May 13, the DH received a notification from the Hospital Authority (HA) indicating that air bubbles had been detected in the coronary artery of a 75-year-old male patient during a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) performed earlier at TMH. According to the preliminary information provided by the HA, it is suspected that the incident is related to the pressure monitoring set used during the procedure.

As the pressure monitoring set in question is listed under the DH's Medical Device Administrative Control System (MDACS), upon receiving the notification, the DH immediately took the following follow-up actions:

Contacted the LRP of the medical device concerned to ascertain the details and requested the LRP to conduct an investigation and submit an investigation report;

As a precautionary measure, the LRP has been instructed to immediately suspend sales of the affected batch and to contact all users in Hong Kong who are using medical devices from the same batch to advise them to temporarily stop using the affected product. To date, the DH has not received any adverse event reporting regarding this medical device from other users; and

Issued a Special Alert on the DH's Medical Device Division website and notified stakeholders, urging users who possess the affected product to temporarily suspend their use and contact the LRP for follow up.

DH's investigation is ongoing. The DH will continue to maintain close communication with the LRP, closely monitor the situation and take follow-up actions based on the investigation report.

The DH introduced the voluntary Medical Device Administrative Control System (MDACS) in 2004, under which a listing system for medical devices and traders as well as a post-market monitoring system for the products are put in place. All listed medical devices meet the safety, quality and performance requirements. Currently, over 9 000 medical devices are listed under the MDACS. Over the past three years, the DH has not received any safety alerts or adverse event reports involving the pressure monitoring set concerned. In response to the latest international regulatory trends, the Government is formulating the statutory regulatory requirements and will consult various stakeholders as appropriate within this year before submitting the legislative proposal to the Legislative Council. The implementation of a statutory registration system for medical devices aligns with the policy directions set out by the Chief Executive in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 Policy Addresses to accelerate the implementation of reforms to the evaluation, approval and registration mechanism for medical products. The HKSAR Government plans to introduce a bill in the second half of this year to achieve the goal of establishing the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation (CMPR) under the DH by the end of 2026. Upon its establishment, the CMPR will systematically consolidate the regulatory functions for Western and Chinese medicines as well as medical devices. By leveraging existing legislation governing Western and Chinese medicines and the proposed statutory regulatory framework for medical devices, the CMPR will comprehensively enhance the regulatory and approval mechanism for medical products, thereby supporting Hong Kong's development as an international Health and Medical Innovation Hub.

Source: AI-found images