The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong and Macao (MHAHKM) hosted a forum on Friday at Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau in Nape, titled “Greater Bay Area Summit Forum on Medical-Social Collaboration in Mental Health”.
According to MHAHKM Chairman Dr William Lo Tak Lam, who is from Hong Kong, the one-day forum focused on tiered mental health services and youth support.
Dr Lo said in a speech that the forum’s selection of Macau as its venue symbolised the Greater Bay Area’s (GBA) mental health initiatives advancing towards deep integration across disciplines, borders and professions. He emphasised the need to pool resources from healthcare, social welfare, education and other sectors to weave a resilient and compassionate mental health safety net for residents across the region.
Mental Health Association of Guangdong Province President Prof. Jia Fujun said in his speech that as the development of the 11-city area has entered a new phase, a crucial task for deepening collaboration is to address the institutional differences and regulatory variations arising from the “One Country, Two Systems” policy. Prof. Jia underlined that mental health serves as a vital safeguard for achieving the vision of high-quality regional development.
According to a statement released during the forum, which was themed “Collaborating in the GBA, Co-Creating Health,” it brought together experts, officials, and frontline workers in the mental health field from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau to jointly explore regional collaboration and service innovation.
The forum, according to the statement, featured two keynote presentations, “The Tiered Management Model for Mental Health,” aimed at promoting broader participation in mental health work by social workers and professionals from other sectors outside the healthcare system, and “Strategies for Supporting Adolescent Mental Health,” which facilitated the sharing of current practices and case studies from the three regions – Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau – to enable cross-regional exchange of experiences.
Dr Lo told reporters he hopes that the forum will promote development in related areas across the three regions, including adolescent mental health, to help young people better regulate emotions and cope with stress. He mentioned that Macau has already initiated relevant research to understand the actual situation and make targeted improvements based on mental health research findings. The forum aimed to encourage cross-sector thinking and implement measures that support mental health, Dr Lo said.
Dr Lo also pointed that mental health encompasses a wide range of areas, including elderly services. In recent years, he said, the trend of Hong Kong and Macau residents relocating to the Chinese mainland for retirement has been increasing, providing retirees with more options. He said he hopes that Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau will collaborate in policy services and professional training to jointly build a more comprehensive and forward-looking regional mental health support network.
Mental Health Association of Hong Kong and Macao Chairman Dr William Lo Tak Lam talks to reporters on the sidelines of Friday’s forum at Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau hotel in Nape. – Photo: Armindo Neves
