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The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, will depart for the United States tonight (September 15) on his eight-day tour to San Francisco, New York and Atlanta.
Dr Chow's first stop is San Francisco, where he will attend Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation 2011's high-level dialogue panel meeting and deliver a speech on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) tomorrow (September 16, San Francisco time).
Dr Chow will hold a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Health of Malaysia, Dato' Sri Liow Tiong Lai, ahead of the panel meeting to exchange views on health-related issues and subjects of mutual concern.
Dr Chow will fly to New York to attend the United Nations high-level meeting on the prevention and control of NCDs on September 19 and 20 (New York time). There has been increasing public concern on NCDs such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. The meeting will focus on reviewing and discussing strategies on the prevention and control of NCDs around the world. Dr Chow will also take the opportunity to share his experiences and views with health officials from all over the world on other health issues.
On September 21 (New York time), Dr Chow will leave for Atlanta to visit the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to learn more about the operation of the Centers and the latest developments in the prevention of communicable diseases in the country. The CDC is committed to monitoring global health, promoting healthy lifestyles, preventing diseases and preparing for health threats.
Dr Chow will leave the United States on September 22 (Atlanta time) and arrive back in Hong Kong on September 23.
Ends/Thursday, September 15, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:05
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