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Health

Health Promotion

Healthy Lifestyle

The Department of Health's Health Promotion Branch formulates and implements strategies and measures to promote healthy eating, regular physical activity and mental wellness. The branch also updates information and health advice on infectious diseases, and produces materials in various languages to raise awareness among ethnic minorities of how to prevent communicable diseases and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

The department works with the Education Bureau to conduct campaigns such as [email protected] and [email protected], in which more than 650 kindergartens and child care centres and over 470 primary schools, including special schools, participated in the 2019-20 school year. In the same school year, the Adolescent Health Programme promoted mental health and healthy use of the internet in about 230 secondary schools.

The department's EatSmart Restaurant Star+ campaign encourages restaurants to provide a wider choice of healthy dishes. As at 31 December, there were over 900 EatSmart restaurants.

The department works with community partners to organise the 'I'm So Smart' Community Health Promotion Programme, which aims to combat the growing problem of non-communicable diseases by promoting a healthy diet and regular physical activities. The programme was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The department maintains close liaison with Healthy Cities projects, NGOs and other community partners and solicits their support to carry out health promotion activities, disseminate health information, alert the public to health threats and facilitate rapid implementation of preventive measures.

The Mental Health Workplace Charter aims to foster employers' adoption of measures that would promote mental well-being, encourage active listening and communication and create an inclusive and mental health-friendly workplace. As at 31 December, over 530 organisations had signed the charter, involving more than 440,000 employees.

AIDS Counselling and Education

The department's Red Ribbon Centre works with community partners to enhance awareness and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and to promote the care and acceptance of HIV patients. In 2020, the centre organised 29 major activities for 12,400 participants.

Information on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and sexually transmitted infections is available on the department's website and a multilingual AIDS hotline. Appointments for counselling and HIV antibody tests may be made via the hotline or the website. In 2020, the hotline received about 9,400 calls. Nurse counsellors handled 13,300 calls for AIDS counselling. About 391,800 condoms were distributed to promote safer sex. There are also a Gay Men HIV Information website and a Gay Men HIV Testing Hotline, which received 190 calls in 2020 for counselling and HIV antibody tests.

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