2022 Annual Report of the APRLO is Now Available!
(Annual reports of regional member associations will be continuously updated.)
16th January, 2023
Words from APRLO:
Since the establishment of Asia-Pacific Regional Liaison Office in 2010, we have been committed to deepening international cooperation on global health governance and actively promoting and participating in WFPHA key activities. In the past year, although the epidemic situation was unpredictable, we still made efforts to carry out the following initiatives:
1. Summary of APRLO’s Activities in 2022:
l WFPHA Global Public Health Week Webinar
World Federation of Public Health Associations has launched an initiative called “Global Public Health Week (GPHW)” from 4th -8th April, 2022. In response to the call of GPHW, the “Better Prepare for the Next Pandemic” Webinar, which organized by the WFPHA Asia Pacific Regional Liaison Office, co-organized by Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, Disease Control and Prevention Institute of Jinan University and CAST UN Consultative Committee on Life Science and Human Health (CCLH), was successfully held online on the afternoon of April 8. Liang Xiaofeng, the Vice President of CPMA, Governing Council member of WFPHA, Dean of Disease Control and Prevention Institute of Jinan University and the Vice President of CCLH was the host of this webinar. Luis Eugenio de Souza, the Vice President of WFPHA, and Feng Zijian, the Vice President and Secretary General of CPMA, Director of WFPHA Asia Pacific Regional Liaison Office, and Secretary General of CCLH, delivered speeches respectively. Experts from international public health institutions such as World Federation of Public Health Associations, National University of Singapore, Public Health Association of Australia, Public Health Association of New Zealand, Vietnam Public Health Association, and China CDC attended the webinar online.
This webinar is one of the series of celebrations for World Health Day. Public health experts need to maintain their scientific spirit and continue to think deeply about best practices for preparing for the next pandemic. At the same time, it is expected that public health associations in different countries, led by the World Health Organization and the World Federation of Public Health Associations, will deepen their international cooperation in response to the next pandemic.
l Regular participation in the WFPHA General Assembly
In 2022, APRLO participated in several WFPHA General Assemblies. During the assemblies, we reported the work of APRLO from 2021 to 2022 and spoke enthusiastically on the strategic plan for the development of the WFPHA from 2023 to 2027 and other key issues.
l Prof. Zijian Feng, the Director of APRLO was elected as the new Board member of GPMB
September 30th, 2022, The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) had announced the appointment of a new Board membership, with Mr.Zijian FENG to serve as the new Board member. The GPMB is co-convened by the World Health Organization and World Bank Group and is charged with providing a comprehensive appraisal of global preparedness for health emergencies. Up to now, Prof. Feng has participated in GPMB working meetings for 8 times mainly on the topics of global health emergency preparedness and response, strengthening mutual accountability, building trust, and supporting decision-makers to take effective action.
l Invite regional member associations to work together for public health development
In order to unite the public health associations from the regional member countries, APRLO has been thinking about how to further strengthen public health communication in the region. At the end of November, we initiate an invitation to member associations to solicit developments in the field of public health. Member societies were invited to brainstorm widely and share their ideas, comments, activities, infographics and other kinds of information about public health topics, APRLO will compile the written content and post it on the website. If a particular topic is highly discussed, APRLO will organize a meeting or seminar on this topic, so as to contribute to global public health. Since the invitation was initiated, we have received a number of submissions, which we will continue to collate and update in the "Regional Activities" and "Recent News" columns.
l Asia Pacific Regional Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Working Group is Under Preparation
On Dec 28, 2020, Asia-Pacific Region Liaison Office of WFPHA ran a workshop on how to strengthen cooperation to address the risk of major infectious diseases in Belt and Road Initiative countries. And Prof. Xiaofeng Liang, the Vice President of CPMA and the GC member of WFPHA, had proposed to establish the Asia-Pacific Regional Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Working Group on that workshop. As for this WG, it has been a long time idea but it was always postponed before because of the epidemic. In order to run the work of the working group smoothly, APRLO drafted the guidelines and discussed it internally with all regional member associations by email recently. After which, APRLO will start working on the specific establishment process, such as the inaugural meeting and other activities of the working group.
2. APRLO’s Work Plan in 2023
l Prepare for the 17th World Congress on Public Health and the Special Meeting with Regional NGOs
APRLO is now actively preparing to visit Rome in May, participating in the 17th World Congress on Public Health and the special meeting with regional NGOs in order to share the values and goals of strengthening the health and well-being of people around the world.
l Participate in the Second Edition of WFPHA Global Public Health Week
APRLO will actively respond to the second edition of WFPHA Global Public Health Week initiative and use the regional office platform to organize seminars on public health-related topics for member associations in the Asia-Pacific region to exchange widely, learn from each other, and contribute to the building of a community of common health for mankind.
l Organize the 7th Asia-Pacific Regional Public Health Conference in Beijing together with Public Health Association of New Zealand, and Establish the Asia Pacific Regional Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Working Group on the Conference
APRLO will organize the 7th Asia-Pacific Regional Public Health Conference, which is intended to be held in Beijing, together with PHANZ. As the regional office, APRLO will use the conference as an opportunity to formally establish Asia Pacific Regional Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Working Group. APRLO will make full use of the existing working platform and meeting mechanism to further strengthen academic exchanges among regional member associations, promote friendship among member associations, and contribute to the development of public health in the region.
APRLO Members
Chinese Preventive Medicine Association
Public Health Association of Australia
Public Health Association of New Zealand
Vietnam Public Health Association
Japan Public Health Association
Korea Public Health Association
Mongolian Public Health Professionals’ Association
Indonesian Public Health Association