2025/09/01 Strengthening Regional Collaboration for Cancer Prevention: APACPH Workshop 2025 in Taipei

The 2025 Asia-Pacific Health Promotion and Non-Communicable Disease Prevention Workshop was jointly organized by the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health Collaborating Centres for Health Promotion (APACPH CCHP), the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan, and the Taiwan Association for Global Health Initiative (TAGHI), with co-organization by the Health Policy Research Center, Institute of Population Health Sciences at the National Health Research Institutes, and the Federation of Public Health Student Associations in Taiwan.

Held on August 26–27 at the College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, the workshop brought together leading international experts and public health professionals for an in-depth exchange on colorectal cancer screening and national screening policies. Distinguished speakers included Dr. Akila Andiappan, Deputy Director of the Screening & Management Division, Health Promotion Board, Singapore; Professor Takahiro Higashi, Department of Public Health and Health Policy, University of Tokyo; Dr. Yumi Oh, Head of the Division of Health Risk Prevention, Korea Health Promotion Institute; and Dr. Han-Mo Chiu, Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University. Officials and scholars from four countries joined in keynote addresses and discussions, with more than 160 participants from 12 nations, including Japan, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines, Turkey, Vietnam, Ghana, and Ukraine. The event further strengthened cross-national collaboration and underscored APACPH’s growing visibility and leadership in the Asia-Pacific public health arena.

Since its establishment in 1984, the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) has been dedicated to advancing academic exchange in public health across the region. It has become one of the most influential nonprofit international academic organizations in the Asia-Pacific and serves as an important think tank for many Ministries of Health. Within this framework, Taiwan and eight partner countries jointly established the Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion (CCHP) in 2017 as a regional platform for health promotion education and training. The CCHP signed the “Taipei Statement on Capacity Building for Health Promotion” with its partners and has since hosted more than 32 international conferences, forums, and workshops to build capacity among public health professionals and promote regional collaboration.

Director of CCHP, Dr. Hung-Yi Chiou, currently serves as APACPH President-Elect and Vice President Finance, delivered opening remarks on both days. CEO of CCHP, Dr. Betty Ya-Wen Chiu, who has served as the inaugural APACPH Taiwan Regional Director since 2016 and was elected Vice-President-1 in 2022 and re-elected in October 2023, acted as host and closing speaker of the workshop.

The first day of the workshop “Colorectal Cancer Screening, Prevention, and Health Promotion Strategies in the Asia-Pacific Region” opened with welcoming remarks by Dr. Ching-Fen Shen, Director-General of the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan, and Dr. So Yoon Kim, President of APACPH from South Korea. Experts from four countries shared perspectives from policy and public health practice, highlighting challenges, practical cases, and reflections on colorectal cancer prevention and health promotion. Dr. Akila Andiappan presented the Healthier Singapore Initiative, which aims to expand screening coverage and ensure timely follow-up. Dr. Yumi Oh emphasized advancing Health in All Policies (HiAP) through intersectoral governance, integrating health, urban planning, environment, and private sector collaboration. Professor Takahiro Higashi advocated for shared decision making approaches to build trust, enhance health literacy, and increase screening participation. Dr. Han-Mo Chiu highlighted Taiwan’s achievements in colorectal cancer screening while underscoring the need for further progress in risk stratification and precision screening, aligning with President Ching-te Lai’s Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee initiative.

The second day, “From Colorectal to Comprehensive: Future Policy Directions for Cancer Prevention and Control,” began with a keynote speech by Professor Hsiu-Hsi Chen, who presented a forward-looking vision of applying the metaverse in precision prevention for colorectal cancer screening, demonstrating the potential of emerging technologies in public health, clinical care, and patient engagement. Dr. Akila Andiappan followed with insights on the next-phase strategies of Singapore’s national screening program. Dr. Yumi Oh analyzed the effectiveness and institutional challenges of Korea’s National Cancer Control Plan, while Professor Takahiro Higashi offered comparative perspectives from Japan, emphasizing the integration of policy planning with clinical practice and the importance of multi-stakeholder perspectives. The day concluded with a roundtable forum co-chaired by Professor Hsiu-Hsi Chen and Director Hung-Yi Chiu, joined by the four keynote speakers and Deputy Director-General Dr. Shi-Lun Wei of the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan.  The session fostered in-depth dialogue among international officials and scholars on cancer prevention and public health strategies.

In her closing remarks, CEO Dr. Betty Ya-Wen Chiu expressed deeply appreciation to the Health Promotion Administration for its strong support, as well as to long-term partners and new participants for their enthusiastic engagement. She emphasized the hope that all participants will carry forward the insights and momentum gained at the workshop to continue advancing the shared mission of health promotion and non-communicable disease prevention across the Asia-Pacific region.

Group photo on the first day of workshop-2 (26/8/2025)