Hong Kong Holds Keys to the Future of Public Health
By David Bishai For me, Hong Kong is irresistible. People in my business gravitate to be where there are tough problems, great solutions, and smart people. Hong Kong is the leading entrepôt city for trade between East and West. Founded by British traders seeking to profit from the opium trade, it bears a legacy of putting Western profits ahead of community well-being. Colonial plans to oppress the poor required revision in the face of malaria, dysentery , plague , TB , and cholera that affected the British too. Hong Kong’s first civil surgeon arrived in 1843 and was followed by waves of British sanitarians enfolding Hong Kong in the Western hygiene revolution. After the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong ended in 1945, the best global technology in disease control was put into use in Hong Kong in efforts that partnered government with local philanthropies. Hong Kong has attained the world’s longest life expectancy. Everyone in my field wants ...