Fourth WHO Working Group Meeting on Traditional Medicine Strategy
held in Hong Kong
The World Health Organization (WHO) today (April 24) convened the
Fourth Working Group Meeting on Traditional Medicine Strategy in Hong
Kong to further discuss and develop the next WHO traditional medicine
global strategy.
The three-day meeting, jointly organised by
the WHO and Hong Kong's Department of Health (DH), continues to devise
the next global strategy in the light of the latest global developments
in traditional medicine and the challenges that have emerged in the past
decade.
Addressing the opening ceremony today, the Director
of Health, Dr Constance Chan, said, "Traditional medicine has been, and
will continue to be, a precious resource and part of the cultural
heritage in many parts of the world. It is our mission to maximise the
potential contribution of traditional medicine to the health care system
to benefit our people, and our responsibility to ensure this resource
is used in a safe, effective and cost-effective manner."
"Production of the global strategy at this point in time cannot be more pertinent," she added.
Dr
Chan said that the Chinese Medicine Division of the DH, which is the
designated WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine, would
continue to support the WHO to advocate and implement the global
strategy, and facilitate better collaboration and co-ordination among
WHO member states and regions.
She also took the opportunity
to share with participants some of the recent milestones that mark the
Government's strong commitment to the development of Chinese medicine in
Hong Kong. These include the setting up of the Chinese Medicine
Development Committee (CMDC) by the Chief Executive early this year to
give recommendations to the Government concerning the direction and
long-term strategy in the future development of Chinese medicines in
Hong Kong, and the publication of the fifth volume of the Hong Kong
Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HKCMMS) in December last year.
"The
CMDC sets the scene for better integration of traditional medicine in
the mainstream health care system, contributing to its modernisation and
internationalisation, while the HKCMMS with publications up to five
volumes so far, covering standards for about 200 commonly used herbs in
Hong Kong, is an important step forward to ensure the quality of herbs
on sale in the local market," Dr Chan said.
Dr Chan
expressed her sincere gratitude to the WHO for its leadership in
co-ordinating member states and regions in formulating the global
strategy, which would shape the future of health care and bring the
whole world to new horizons.
About 20 international experts
from the WHO's six regions, namely Africa, the Americas, South-East
Asia, Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Pacific, as well
as local experts attended the meeting.
Ends/Wednesday, April 24, 2013
