The World Health Organization (WHO) today (September 4) commenced a three-day meeting in Hong Kong to discuss and develop the WHO guidelines on quality control of herbal medicines.

     Supported by the Department of Health (DH), the meeting is the third consultation meeting held with a view to finalising the draft WHO guidelines on good herbal processing practices for herbal medicines.

     Addressing the opening session, the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, said, "Herbal medicines have histories dating back thousands of years. Viewed as a precious resource nowadays, they are respected and supported as a valuable source of leads for therapeutic advances and the discovery of new classes of drugs."

     She added, "As a health regulatory authority, we understand that the safety and quality of herbal medicines are of utmost importance not only to the public health, but also for the successful integration of these drugs into the modern system of medicine."    

     Updating the participants on Hong Kong's progress in strengthening the safety and quality control of Chinese medicines, Dr Chan said that Hong Kong's Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute specialising in the testing of and scientific research on Chinese medicines has just come into operation this year. This will enhance Hong Kong's capacity in providing Chinese medicine testing and accreditation services, which will in turn further safeguard the quality of Chinese medicines in Hong Kong.

     More than 40 international experts from the WHO's six regions, namely Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, as well as local experts are attending the meeting. The WHO's last consultation on quality control of herbal medicines was held in Hong Kong in 2014.

Ends/Monday, September 4, 2017
Issued at HKT 14:30

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