CUHK
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The Inauguration Ceremony of School of Public Health and Primary Care of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the Opening Ceremony of Asia Conference on Emerging Issues in Public Health were held today at Shaw Auditorium. Over three hundred local and international guests witness this significant moment in the public health and primary care history of Hong Kong.

Dr York CHOW, Secretary for Food and Health, The Government of HKSAR; Professor Jack CHENG, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, CUHK; Dr C. H. LEONG, Member, Executive Council, The Government of HKSAR; Professor Li-Ming LI, Vice President, The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, China; Professor Wen-Ta CHIU, President, Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health; Dr Donald LI, President, World Organization of Family Doctors (Asia Pacific Region); Professor Joseph SUNG, Associate Dean, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK and Professor Sian GRIFFITHS, Director, School of Public Health and Primary Care, CUHK officiated at the ceremony.

The School of Public Health and Primary Care was created from the School of Public Health and Department of Community and Family Medicine on 1 August 2009 as one of four schools in the Faculty of Medicine at CUHK.

“We have created our new school to meet the needs of society,” said Professor Sian GRIFFITHS, Director of School of Public Health and Primary Care. “We hope our graduates from our new Bachelor of Science in Public Health Programme as well as the medical students we teach will contribute to a healthier society in the future. We are delighted to be working not only with colleagues from Hong Kong but from mainland China and many other countries.”

“We know that evidence from countries around the world has demonstrated that good primary care is associated with more equitable distribution of health within and across populations and helps prevent illness and death at a lower cost. The recent public health threats such as the SARS and pandemic flu have highlighted the importance of collaboration between public health and primary care and the need for more public health trained graduates both at undergraduate and postgraduate level,” Professor GRIFFITHS added.

The inauguration of School of Public Health and Primary Care provides an institutional platform for the integration of public health and primary care, which is an important channel through which public health initiatives can be delivered As well as the inauguration of the new School of Public Health and Primary Care, the School hosted the Asia Conference on Emerging Issues in Public Health to discuss emerging issues in public health and educational strategies for the future, and to foster collaborative partnership amongst institutes locally, regionally and internationally from 30 November to 2 December 2009. One issue which will be discussed on World AIDS Day is the threat of HIV/AIDS and the increasing need to promote awareness amongst men who have sex with men.

“HIV/AIDS continues to pose a threat to the public's health. The newly inaugurated School of Public Health and Primary Care gives high priority to research and teaching to support local and global initiatives to promote responsible lifestyles which will decrease the risks of infection and promote greater understanding in the community,” said Professor Griffiths.

In support of World AIDS Day 2009, the Conference includes the Symposium chaired by Dr Thomas TSANG, Controller, Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, The Government of HKSAR, on recent development of HIV problems in Hong Kong and mainland China. Professor Joseph LAU, Associate Director (Research Development) of CUHK School of Public Health and Primary Care will announce the recent results on HIV research in Hong Kong, highlighting the need of promoting HIV antibody testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Hong Kong.

For more details of the survey result, please refer to the attachment 1.

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About CUHK School of Public Health and Primary Care

The School of Public Health and Primary Care was established on 1 August 2009 to replace the School of Public Health and the Department of Community and Family Medicine, with the mission of improving the health of the population locally, nationally and internationally. The school is the first institution in Hong Kong to provide comprehensive education, training, consultation, and research in public health and primary care. The inclusion of primary care reflects the importance placed internationally on developing primary care as the basis for health service delivery and the School of Public Health and Primary Care will focus on developing research and teaching not only in Hong Kong but also mainland and in the region.

To prepare a competent public health workforce in response to such global public health demands, the School expands the opportunities to study public health by extending from postgraduate to undergraduate levels. The School has launched the new Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSc in Public Health) programmme in the academic year of 2009/10 which is its first kind in undergraduate public health programmes in Hong Kong and will equip students from all disciplines with knowledge and skills in public health. The school continues to work closely in collaboration with partners from all relevant disciplines and institutions.

Please visit the School’s website at http://www.sphpc.cuhk.edu.hk for supplementary information.