************************************************************
A World Health Organization (WHO) expert on building healthy cities today (March 9) visited Kowloon City to see how the Healthy Cities project could be implemented in the district.
Dr Linda Milan, the Director of Building Healthy Communities and Populations, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific, toured a number of rear lanes before meeting with members of the Building Healthy Kowloon City Association which was set up in February, 2007, for implementing the Healthy Cities project on an approach advocated by WHO.
She was accompanied on the tour by the acting Principal Medical and Health Officer, Dr SF Tsang, and was briefed by District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Kowloon City) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Mr Chan Yui-kei on the progress of work.
Dr Milan, who is the Honorary Patron of the Association encouraged members to focus on the socio-economic and environmental aspects of health to improve community health from its roots.
She then met with the Assistant Director of Health (Health Promotion), Dr Regina Ching, District Officer (Kowloon City), Ms Agnes Wong and community leaders of the district at a meeting afterwards.
According to Dr Ching, the Healthy Cities movement is a health promotion strategy advocated by WHO in the past 20 years to modify the determinants of health, such as housing, environment, social welfare, transport, employment, education and town planning through community participation and inter-sectoral actions to prevent diseases and improve health of the population.
The Department of Health has developed a set of Guidelines for Implementing a Healthy Cities Project in Hong Kong and the Healthy Cities movement has been implemented in 13 districts since its inception in Hong Kong in late 1990s.
Ends/Friday, March 9, 2007
Issued at HKT 19:08
NNNN