Chief Executive Carrie Lam

CityU's (City University's) new initiative in providing veterinary education in Hong Kong is indeed timely. According to the World Health Organization, 60% of existing human infectious diseases are zoonotic, and at least 75% of emerging human infectious diseases originate from animals. Issues such as virus and bacteria mutations, anti-microbial resistance and food-borne disease continue to present new challenges to the medical profession. These challenges are amplified by an increasing risk of disease transmission through cross-border travel and international trade, as well as rising population and density, placing even more pressure on public health.

Good public health is the cornerstone of any safe and liveable city. This is particularly important for a dense city like Hong Kong with large numbers of people movement. Therefore, safeguarding public health is a top priority for my Government. We fully embrace the internationally advocated concept of "One Health" in planning and implementing our policies and measures to safeguard public health from a holistic perspective involving veterinary and medical professionals. Our respect for the One Health concept and our vigilance in public health have borne fruit. For well over a decade, Hong Kong has remained free from many globally significant and potentially deadly zoonotic diseases, most notably rabies, avian influenza and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). But the recent local incidents of Dengue fever have reminded us of the importance of vigilance.

As regards to the veterinary profession, Hong Kong has all along adopted an open regime, welcoming the best veterinarians trained in overseas universities to come to practice here. Undoubtedly, their contributions have helped to keep deadly zoonotic diseases at bay. But there is no room for complacency. CityU is now blazing a trail with the establishment of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Life Sciences to create a centre of excellence in veterinary and biomedical education. The college has launched Hong Kong's first bachelor programme in veterinary medicine to build a local pool of expertise alongside that of overseas veterinary surgeons. The first cohort of veterinary students embarked on their journey last September.

Training highly skilled professionals requires world-class academic and clinical facilities. To this end, CityU will establish a 12-storey One Health Tower as an educational and research base for veterinary medicine and life sciences to complement the college's clinical facilities, livestock farms and veterinary diagnostic laboratory. I am sure that with CityU's commitment to this new initiative, coupled with well-qualified academic staff and excellent teaching facilities, the college will produce graduates who measure up to veterinarians trained in other renowned institutions round the world.

CityU's vision and initiative would not have succeeded without the generous support from the Jockey Club Charities Trust. Naming the college as the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine & Life Sciences is indeed appropriate. Looking ahead, the Jockey Club One Health Tower will not only provide the necessary space for students' learning and research work, but will also serve as a platform for collaboration between veterinary and biomedical science under the One Health paradigm.

It is also fitting that the Jockey Club will be a beneficiary of CityU's initiative, as the graduates of the college would likely be amongst the targets for recruitment when you enlarge your own pool of veterinary expertise. So this is going to be a win-win result for all.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam gave these remarks at the naming ceremony for the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine & Life Sciences of the City University of Hong Kong on August 20.