Secretary for Health continues to attend 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva (with photos)
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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.
Ends/Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Issued at HKT 9:00
Issued at HKT 9:00
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