Secretary for Health continues to attend 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, continued to attend the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA) of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). He also met with other participants and WHO officials to exchange views on various public health-related issues.
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The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (second left), and the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (first right) met with the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore's Communicable Diseases Agency, Professor Vernon Lee (second right) on the sidelines of the 79th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). They exchanged views on the follow-up work regarding the Memorandum of Understanding on the prevention and control of communicable diseases signed in 2024. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with the Director of the Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence of the World Health Organization, Dr Alain Labrique, in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). Photo shows Professor Lo (fourth left); Dr Labrique (fourth right); the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (third left); the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (second left), and other attendees of the meeting. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with the Head of the Mental Health Unit, Department of Mental Health, Brain Health and Substance Use of the World Health Organization, Dr Mark van Ommeren, in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). Photo shows Professor Lo (seventh right); Dr Mark van Ommeren (seventh left); the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (fifth right); the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (fourth right), and other attendees of the meeting. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with the Director of the Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention of the World Health Organization, Dr Etienne Krug, in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). Photo shows Professor Lo (second left); Dr Krug (first left); the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (second right); and the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (first right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau (third right), met with the Minister of Health of Brazil, Dr Alexandre Padilha (third left), in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time) to exchange views on work including the regulation and approval mechanism of drugs and medical devices. The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (second right), and the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (first right), also attended. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, continued to attend the 79th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). Photo shows Professor Lo listening to the speech made by the Minister of the National Health Commission, Mr Lei Haichao, on healthcare developments of the Mainland at the plenary session. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
On the second day of the WHA, Professor Lo continued to attend the Assembly as a member of the Chinese delegation. He was accompanied by the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, and the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui.
In the morning, Professor Lo and his delegation met with the Minister of Health of Brazil, Dr Alexandre Padilha, to exchange views on the regulation of drugs and medical devices. Professor Lo said, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government is actively enhancing the current regulatory system for drugs and medical devices, and will establish the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation within this year. We look forward to having more collaboration with the regulatory authority of drugs and medical devices in Brazil to jointly introduce more innovative drugs to benefit people."
Professor Lo and Dr Lam also met with the Director of the Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention of the WHO, Dr Etienne Krug, to exchange views on health literacy. At the meeting, they shared the HKSAR Government's various efforts in enhancing health literacy to support life-course disease prevention and health promotion. Professor Lo said, "Enhancing health literacy enables members of the public to make wise choices for their own health. Through a life-course approach, we can effectively prevent diseases and promote health at different stages of life."
During the meeting with the Head of the Mental Health Unit, Department of Mental Health, Brain Health and Substance Use of the WHO, Dr Mark van Ommeren, Professor Lo and Dr Lam exchanged views on promoting the mental health of Hong Kong citizens, in particular about the impacts on mental health brought about by the use of electronic devices and social media. Professor Lo emphasised, "The HKSAR Government attaches great importance to the mental well-being of the public. We adopt an integrated approach to provide services in various aspects, covering prevention, early identification, timely intervention and treatment, and rehabilitation for persons in need, thereby promoting mental health."
Professor Lo and Dr Lam also met with the Director of the Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence of the WHO, Dr Alain Labrique, to conduct a detailed exchange on issues including smart healthcare, telemedicine, regulation of AI medical devices and relevant capacity building. Professor Lo said, "Smart healthcare is the core direction leading future healthcare development. The HKSAR Government has been committed to promoting the digital transformation of Hong Kong's healthcare system, actively developing medical innovations and technologies and applying them to fields including healthcare services, public health surveillance and medical research, to comprehensively enhance service efficiency and quality, and promote the sustainable development of the healthcare system."
In the evening, Professor Lo and the delegation attended a side meeting organised by the Global Coalition to listen to the sharing on global medical co-operation by a number of senior health officials from different countries.
Moreover, Dr Lam met with the Chief Executive Officer of Singapore's Communicable Diseases Agency, Professor Vernon Lee, to discuss the progress of collaboration between both sides in communicable disease prevention and monitoring, the response to infectious diseases with significant public health impacts, actions to combat antimicrobial resistance, and public health emergency response plans and exercises, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding on the prevention and control of communicable diseases signed in August 2024.
The delegation will depart for Zurich today (May 20, Geneva time) to hold a roundtable meeting with local multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to introduce them to the measures put forward by the HKSAR Government to develop Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, enhance the drug evaluation and registration mechanism, and foster clinical trial development.
The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (second left), and the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (first right) met with the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore's Communicable Diseases Agency, Professor Vernon Lee (second right) on the sidelines of the 79th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). They exchanged views on the follow-up work regarding the Memorandum of Understanding on the prevention and control of communicable diseases signed in 2024. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with the Director of the Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence of the World Health Organization, Dr Alain Labrique, in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). Photo shows Professor Lo (fourth left); Dr Labrique (fourth right); the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (third left); the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (second left), and other attendees of the meeting. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with the Head of the Mental Health Unit, Department of Mental Health, Brain Health and Substance Use of the World Health Organization, Dr Mark van Ommeren, in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). Photo shows Professor Lo (seventh right); Dr Mark van Ommeren (seventh left); the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (fifth right); the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (fourth right), and other attendees of the meeting. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with the Director of the Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention of the World Health Organization, Dr Etienne Krug, in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). Photo shows Professor Lo (second left); Dr Krug (first left); the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (second right); and the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (first right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau (third right), met with the Minister of Health of Brazil, Dr Alexandre Padilha (third left), in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time) to exchange views on work including the regulation and approval mechanism of drugs and medical devices. The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam (second right), and the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Dr Edwin Tsui (first right), also attended. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, continued to attend the 79th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (May 19, Geneva time). Photo shows Professor Lo listening to the speech made by the Minister of the National Health Commission, Mr Lei Haichao, on healthcare developments of the Mainland at the plenary session. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
