SFH attends 11th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy (with photo)
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The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, attended the 11th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy today (August 24) via video conferencing to discuss and exchange views with leaders of other economies on the nexus of health and the economy in the context of COVID-19.
Under the theme of Making the Economic Case for Health Equity in a COVID-19 World, senior health officials from member economies shared views on challenges to public health systems and economies as the world continues its enduring battle against the COVID-19 pandemic; measures to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines and medical products; as well as strengthening the resilience of the global public health system to respond to future health threats, and promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
During the discussion session, Professor Chan shared her views on supply chain resilience of COVID-19 vaccines: “As we have entered the second year of the battle against COVID-19, it has become clear to the global community that vaccination is one of the keys to ending the pandemic. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has launched a territory-wide COVID-19 Vaccination Programme since February 2021 and the ‘Early Vaccination for All’ campaign in end-May 2021 in order to boost public uptake of vaccines. Hong Kong, China, will continue to support and participate in the joint effort of ensuring sustainable and equitable access to safe and affordable COVID-19 vaccines, as well as addressing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, in order to promote extensive immunisation against COVID-19 as a global public good.
“Strong international and regional collaboration is paramount in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hong Kong, China, remains committed to closely collaborating with other APEC member economies in order to strengthen our global health systems and pandemic preparedness, and respond to future health threats,” Professor Chan added.
Before the end of the meeting, Professor Chan and health officials of other economies jointly adopted a statement to affirm continued international and regional collaboration on health on various fronts.
