Professor Emily Chan Delivers Inaugural Lecture on Humanitarian Response and Public Health Diplomacy

Professor Emily Ying-yang Chan, founder and Co-director of the Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC), delivered her inaugural lecture as the Kuok Group Professor in Global Public Health and Humanitarian Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) on 8 June 2026. Entitled “Frontline Medical Humanitarian Response and Public Health Diplomacy in the Digital Era”, the lecture was held at the Shaw Auditorium, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Prince of Wales Hospital.

Drawing on three decades of global experience in frontline humanitarian practice, evidence-based research and capacity-building initiatives, Professor Chan reflected on the evolving challenges of disaster and humanitarian medicine. She highlighted how globalisation, climate change, population movement, urbanisation, demographic ageing and protracted crises are reshaping global health risks. The interactions between extreme weather events, environmental degradation, emerging infectious diseases and fragile health systems have further intensified complex emergencies, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations.

The lecture explored lessons learned from frontline medical humanitarian response and the emerging challenges of protecting health and human dignity in the digital era. Particular attention was given to the intersections of humanitarian medicine, public health diplomacy, humanitarian ethics and global health equity, highlighting the importance of integrating scientific evidence, ethical considerations and international collaboration into responses to complex health emergencies.

The occasion also formed part of CCOUC’s 15th anniversary celebrations and welcomed members of the university community and international research partners, including representatives from the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme. The lecture recognised Professor Chan’s longstanding contributions to humanitarian medicine, disaster risk management, research and professional capacity building, while reinforcing CCOUC’s commitment to advancing global public health and humanitarian response.