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7 Dec 2023 |
The FPAHK’s 68th Annual General Meeting
The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (The FPAHK) held its 68th Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The new Chairman and Council Members were elected. The FPAHK was honoured to be graced by the presence of Dr. Karen Chan, President of The Hong Kong College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, as the Guest of Honour.
In his address to the AGM, The FPAHK’s Chairman Dr. Cheung Kai Bun said that the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Chief Executive had brought to the forefront in his Policy Address this year the pressing issue of declining fertility rate in Hong Kong with a renewed focus on the Government’s initiatives to encourage childbirth. As an organization committed to promoting sexual and reproductive health and responsible parenthood for the community, The FPAHK has a crucial role to play in addressing this challenge. The FPAHK’s Family Planning Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey in Hong Kong 2022 revealed that more women wished to have a child or another child and a widening gap between their average ideal parity and the average actual parity compared with the 2017 Survey. A proportion of Hong Kong couples, probably, were still positive about childbearing and yet had not attained their goals of ideal number of children. Also worth noting was the finding that more than 20% of the respondents did not know or had not decided on their fertility plan. One of the fundamental measures to promote fertility would be to raise awareness among the younger generation about the importance of family planning and the potential challenges associated with delayed parenthood. Through implementing comprehensive sex education programs and promoting public campaigns that highlight the benefits of planning for their families at an earlier age, young people could be empowered to make informed decisions about their reproductive choices.
Dr. Cheung said, the Government’s decision to increase the public service quota for assisted reproductive services was highly encouraging. FPAHK could play an important role in early counselling, advising appropriate investigation to identify the underlying causes and promptly initiating fertility treatment such as artificial insemination by husband, or making early referrals for those who require in-vitro fertilization. The FPAHK would continue to enhance its services to meet the evolving needs of the community, taking advantage of the advancement in medical technologies in particular.
The FPAHK’s Executive Director Dr. Mona Lam reported on the Association’s major works and accomplishments in the past year. She said that during and after the COVID-2019 pandemic, as a non-profit organization, The FPAHK had been facing multiple difficult challenges. Owing to the understanding and perseverance of the staff and volunteers who rose to the challenges and continued to serve the community, The FPAHK had been able to maintain the standard of its professional services. Concerning the Association’s future development, she said that The FPAHK would work in line with the strategic direction of the Government’s Policy Address and the Primary Healthcare Blueprint to tackle the trends of declining birth rate and population ageing. In addition to strengthening fertility-related services, The FPAHK would continue to advocate, promote and provide information, education, medical and counseling services in Sexual and Reproductive Health for the community.
Concluding the AGM, Dr. Cheung extended his gratitude on behalf of the Association to the Government, volunteers, donors and service users for their generous support and contributions.
The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong Annual Report 2022-2023 has been uploaded onto the FPAHK Website (www.famplan.org.hk/en).