　　A four-day showcase event organised by the Chinese Medicine Development Fund (CMDF) of the Government commenced today (March 8) to present the fruitful achievements of the CMDF since its launch, and promote Chinese medicine (CM) knowledge and culture to the public. The Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, said at the opening ceremony that the CMDF will continue to work hand in hand with the CM sector in the future to jointly take forward more projects which are conducive to the long-term development of CM in Hong Kong.
　　The showcase event is being held today until March 11 at the Event Hall on the Ground Floor of Olympian City 2, Tai Kok Tsui. Apart from showcasing the achievements of projects funded by the CMDF, a variety of free interactive activities is staged for the public to have a taste of CM culture in a fun way. These activities include seminars featuring various themes to introduce to citizens CM knowledge such as acupuncture points, prevention and treatment of pain, and postpartum care. Citizens may also join CM workshops to learn more about Chinese herbal medicine (Chm) cultivation and various CM interventions, as well as to make their own herbal mosquito repellent oil. During the event period, the CMDF will also host a friendly debate competition for secondary school students to explore topics regarding the future development of CM, while fun games and snapshot booths are set up for the public to participate in gift redemptions and photo-taking. There will be arrangements to produce WhatsApp stickers on the theme of CM for the public tomorrow (March 9) and on Sunday.
　　Dr Lee said, "The Government has been devoting additional efforts and resources in recent years to implement a range of policy initiatives, going the extra mile apart from the continued commitment to promoting the high-quality development of CM in Hong Kong on all fronts. Among others, the Government has launched more than 10 funding schemes through the CMDF to facilitate training for high-quality talents in the CM sector, improve clinic facilities, enhance the manufacturing quality and management system of proprietary Chinese medicines (pCm), support pCm registration and market expansion to the Mainland, encourage applied studies and research, as well as deepen public understanding of CM."
　　Launched in 2019, the CMDF has been granting funds to a number of projects with fruitful achievements, including academic inheritance training by renowned CM masters, international academic conferences, CM professional development and cross-disciplinary collaborative studies, research in traditional CM theory and evidence-based medicine, as well as public education and cultural promotion projects in communities and on campuses. Moreover, the CMDF provided full funding for two anti-epidemic projects co-ordinated by the Federation of the Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Chinese Medicines Traders Association during the COVID-19 epidemic. The two projects enlisted nearly 720 Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs) in private practice to provide CM telemedicine and rehabilitation services to almost 42 000 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 or suffered from post-COVID-19 conditions.
　　As of the end of February this year, nearly 7 700 funding applications were approved by the CMDF, benefitting more than 2.15 million individuals/organisations in the CM sector, including registered and listed CMPs, CM drug personnel, CM clinics, manufacturers and wholesalers of pCm, retailers and wholesalers of Chm, CM-related organisations, universities and tertiary education institutions, as well as the public. Major achievements of the CMDF are listed below:
- Talent nurturing: Close to 3 200 CMPs and CM drug personnel have received subsidies to attend CM professional training programmes for them to continuously upskill professional knowledge and ability. The CMDF has also supported programme providers to design and organise innovative training projects, benefiting over 32 500 practitioners;
- Quality enhancement: The CMDF has supported more than 470 CM clinics and nearly 185 Chm retailers/wholesalers to upgrade their facilities and equipment with a view to enhancing service quality, safety and quality control of CM drugs. The CMDF has also supported nearly 160 pCm manufacturers/wholesalers to engage consultancy services and technical support to complete the registration process for some 730 pCm products, thereby levelling up the quality of Hong Kong-registered pCm products and fostering the development of CM drug industry;
- Research and applied studies: The CMDF has supported the commencement of 58 CM research and applied studies projects which are instrumental to the academic and clinical research, professional and industry development of CM in Hong Kong; and
- Publicity and promotion: The CMDF has supported nearly 620 CM publicity and public education activities of various forms with target audiences covering kindergarten students, primary and secondary school students, and elderly persons.
　　Dr Lee said, "Looking ahead, the development of CM in Hong Kong will usher in many more new opportunities and challenges. With the additional injection of $500 million into the CMDF as announced by the Financial Secretary in the 2023-24 Budget, the total amount of the CMDF now comes to $1 billion. The CMDF will progressively roll out more funding schemes to support the CM sector in a more focused, strategic and effective manner, in a bid to drive the long-term development of CM in Hong Kong."
　　The Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the CMDF, Professor Douglas So; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), Mr Sunny Tan; and the Acting Commissioner for Chinese Medicine Development of the Health Bureau (HHB), Mr Dominic Ho, also attended the opening ceremony today. Members of the public may visit the website of the CMDF for more information on the showcase event.
　　The CMDF is the first dedicated fund specifically set up to support the development of CM with the objectives of promoting the development of CM in Hong Kong and enhancing the overall standard of the CM sector. The CMDF is supervised by the Chinese Medicine Unit of the HHB, with the HKPC serving as the implementation agent.
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