Following is the speech by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, at the Plenary Session: Strengthening Pandemic Preparedness through Global Collaboration of the Asia Summit on Global Health today (May 11):

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good morning. Welcome to the Asia Summit on Global Health.

     We are here today at a very perfect time to address how to strengthen pandemic preparedness through global collaboration. As the world is closely watching the outbreak of severe acute respiratory illness from the laboratory-confirmed Hantavirus infection causing at least three deaths already in a Dutch-flagged cruise ship - although the World Health Organization assesses that the risk of this outbreak developing into a global pandemic is low - the world is already having its hair standing on end, and people are already crying out - not again!

     We cannot resist the feeling of deja vu that just a few years ago, the world was in fact gripped by the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted every facet of our societies.

     The COVID-19 pandemic taught us a sobering lesson: No health system, however advanced, can stand alone against a pandemic, and no one is safe until everyone is safe. When the next pandemic emerges - and it will - I am sure, our collective survival will depend not on walls, but on bridges.

     Building on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong has strengthened our preparedness for the next pandemic. For example, to enhance our multi-source surveillance system, we have regularised the territory-wide sewage surveillance programme for COVID-19 and have expanded it to cover other pathogens including seasonal influenza viruses and poliovirus, and more to come. 

     We will further build up the infection control capability of the staff in high-risk venues including our residential care homes through systematic training. And we have set up a new Emerging Disease Preparedness Research Fund to turn research into real-world strategy for pandemic preparedness.

     These are just a few of our preparedness work and of course, pathogens do not respect borders, and neither can our responses. Hong Kong remains fully committed to working with our motherland and partners in the region and beyond.

     With our unique position under the constitutional advantage of "one country, two systems", we are committed to building bridges between East and West, between research and application, between policy and practice. 

     Hong Kong has long been recognised for the quality and efficiency of our healthcare system. We consistently rank at the top of global health indices, with a life expectancy that remains among the highest in the world, with women over 88 years and men about 83 years in 2024. Our public healthcare system serves as a robust safety net, ensuring universal health coverage for all at a very low cost.

     The National 15th Five-Year Plan calls for a health-first development strategy. Hong Kong is fully aligned and will continue to contribute to this national vision through our work in pandemic preparedness and medical innovation.

Promoting clinical trials: the real-world engine of preparedness

     Vaccines, antivirals, and therapeutics all emerge from robust clinical trial ecosystems. Nowhere is that bridge between research and application more vital than clinical trial. 

     In a pandemic, every day lost in trial recruitment or data silos costs lives. Hong Kong has recently built two essential pillars to address that.

     First, the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute (GBAICTI), established in November 2024, serves as a one-stop clinical trial support platform to co-ordinate and integrate clinical trial resources in Hong Kong's public and private sectors. It connects Hong Kong's world-class universities with the Greater Bay Area (GBA)'s population of 87 million - a diverse, accessible patient pool for rapid trial recruitment during an outbreak.

     Second, the Real-World Study and Application Centre, launched in December last year under the GBAICTI, leverages Hong Kong's territory-wide electronic health records. 

     The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the value of these data in practice: When vaccines were actually deployed under emergency authorisation faster than conventional trials could confirm their real-world performance across all populations, Hong Kong's comprehensive electronic health records enabled rapid generation of real-world evidence to validate vaccine effectiveness, shaping both our vaccination policy and the broader global scientific response.

     These initiatives form the Greater Bay Area Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform, a "one institute, one center" model that integrates the resources of the GBAICTI in Hong Kong and the GBA International Clinical Trials Center in Shenzhen. The Platform provides a one-stop service entry point for global biomedical enterprises and researchers, co-ordinating multi-centre cross-boundary clinical trials that meet both national and international standards. Should another novel pathogen emerge, this integrated infrastructure - spanning institutions, data systems and regulatory pathways across the GBA - will enable a rapid, evidence-based clinical research response that can inform both regional management and the broader global scientific community.

Regulatory innovations for medical products 

     To keep pace with approval and registration, we are overhauling our regulatory regime. We have already launched the "primary evaluation" with the target of full implementation by 2030.The "1+" mechanism, implemented since 2023 as a precursor step, has already taken effect in hastening many new drug registrations.

     The Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation (CMPR) will be established by this year, consolidating the regulation of Western pharmaceuticals, Chinese medicines and medical devices. The CMPR will strengthen international collaboration, and expedite patient access to safe and effective medical products while reinforcing collective pandemic readiness.  

     Complementing the measure allowing designated healthcare institutions in the GBA to use Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospitals before they become available on the Mainland, there is an unparalleled green channel for innovators and a vital pipeline accelerating patient access.

Chinese medicine development

     The pandemic also reminded us of the value of diverse therapeutic arsenals. Chinese medicine was not a footnote in our COVID 19 response - it was a frontline partner. As part of China, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is one of the first places in the world to systematically integrate Chinese medicine into our pandemic preparedness framework.

     Our Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint sets five key domains, from Chinese medicine services to Chinese medicine profession, Chinese medicines development, cultural inheritance and go global. The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong commenced phased operations last year. As the first Chinese medicine hospital in Hong Kong, the Chinese Medicine Hospital will pioneer a "Hong Kong model" of integrated care and serve as a training hub for practitioners who can deploy Western and Chinese medicine in a public health crisis.

     Our Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute is establishing internationally recognised reference standards for herbal medicines. Having science-based, globally accepted quality standards means that Chinese medicine can be deployed as a reliable, scalable, and verifiable component of pandemic response. This will not be alternative medicine. This will be evidence-based, standardised, and ready.

Closing

     Ladies and gentlemen, the Hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship rings the bell again to warn us that the next pandemic is not a hypothetical. It is a matter of when, not if. Our task today is not to predict its arrival, but to ensure that when it comes, we are not caught unprepared.

     True pandemic preparedness demands global collaboration. Hong Kong stands ready to be a partner of the world and the World Health Organization. Let us build not just resilience, but also bridges. Let us ensure that when history writes the story of the next pandemic, it will not be a story of misguided actions, missed warnings or closed borders, but of swift, collaborative, and compassionate action. Thank you. 

Ends/Monday, May 11, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:15

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