The 2026 Asia-Pacific Health Promotion and Non-Communicable Disease Prevention Workshop was jointly organized by Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health Collaborating Centres for Health Promotion (APACPH CCHP), the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan, and the Taiwan Association for Global Health Initiative (TAGHI), with the Health Policy Research Center, Institute of Population Health Sciences at the National Health Research Institutes, as co-organizers.
Held on August 11–12 at the College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, the workshop brought together leading international experts and public health professionals for an in-depth exchange on digital innovation for enhancing physical activity and nutrition management. Distinguished speakers included Dr. Ching-Fen SHEN, Director General of the HPA, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan; Ms. Audrey TONG, Director of Integrated Solutions & Program Planning Office, Health Promotion Board, Singapore; Professor Takehiro SUGIYAMA, Director of Department of Medical DX, Bureau of System Infrastructure Development, Japan Institute for Health Security; Dr. Junbok LEE, Research Professor of Yonsei Institute for Digital Health; and Dr. Yu-Hung CHANG, Project Assistant Investigator, Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes. Officials and scholars from four countries joined the workshop, which attracted more than 200 participants over the two days, with participants representing 11 nations, including Taiwan, the United States, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Eswatini, Myanmar, the Philippines, The Gambia, Ghana, and Ethiopia. The event further strengthened cross-national collaboration and underscored APACPH’s growing visibility and leadership in the Asia-Pacific public health arena.
Since its establishment in 1984, the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) has been dedicated to advancing academic exchange in public health across the region. It has become one of the most influential international nonprofit academic organizations in the Asia-Pacific and serves as an important think tank for many Ministries of Health. Within this framework, Taiwan and eight partner countries jointly established the Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion (CCHP) in 2017 as a regional platform for health promotion education and training. The CCHP signed the “Taipei Statement on Capacity Building for Health Promotion” with its partners and has since hosted more than 34 international conferences, forums, and workshops to build capacity among public health professionals and promote regional collaboration.
Director of CCHP, Dr. Hung-Yi CHIOU, who currently serves as President of APACPH, delivered the opening remarks on both days. CEO of CCHP, Dr. Betty Ya-Wen CHIU, APACPH Taiwan Regional Director and Vice President Finance, hosted the workshop and delivered the closing remarks, while CCHP Deputy CEO Nicholas Wei-Cheng LO served as emcee throughout the two-day event.
Digital Innovation for Healthier Lifestyles
The first day of the workshop “Digital Innovation for Enhancing Physical Activity and Nutrition Management” opened with welcoming remarks by Dr. Shi-Lun WEI, Deputy Director General of the HPA, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan, Dr. Hung-Yi CHIOU, President of APACPH, and Dr. Yu-Kang TU, Dean of College of Public Health, National Taiwan University. Experts from four countries shared a common vision, using digital innovation to support healthier lifestyles and improve population health through evidence-based, people-centred solutions.
Director General Ching-Fen SHEN’s keynote address highlighted Taiwan’s community-based nutrition services and plans to develop the “Health GO” app to further promote healthy eating and physical activity through digital technology. Director Audrey TONG presented the digital application “Healthy 365” and shared how citizen-centric approaches, behavioral insights, data analytics, and digital tools are being used to empower residents to take a more active role in their health journeys.
Director Takehiro SUGIYAMA presented Japan’s research on Personal Health Records (PHRs), using longitudinal data from the consumer apps Calomeal and PepUp to explore sustained PHR use and its relationship with behavior change. The findings highlighted the potential of PHRs to support healthier behaviors. Dr. Junbok Lee introduced Korea’s AI-driven approaches to personalized physical activity and nutrition management, highlighting public health programs and incentive schemes such as the National Health Incentive Program and Tuntun Money that encourage verified healthy behaviors.
From Digital Innovation to Policy Translation and Governance
The second day of the workshop focused on “Advancing Digital Health for Physical Activity and Nutrition: Policy Translation and Governance”. Dr. Yu-Hung CHANG introduced a practical evaluability assessment tool designed to improve evaluation readiness and strengthen public health program improvement and planning. Director Audrey TONG shared Singapore’s comprehensive sodium reduction strategy, which combines industry partnerships, consumer education, healthier food choices, and digital incentives to create a food environment that supports lower sodium intake. Director Takehiro SUGIYAMA discussed how Japan is integrating PHR and ICT tools into its national Specific Health Guidance framework, highlighting the importance of individual motivation, ICT literacy, and timely professional support in sustaining behavior change. Dr. Junbok LEE presented Korea’s evolving governance framework for digital healthcare, including the Digital Medical Products Act, which provides a legal basis for the life-cycle governance of digital medical products as digital therapeutics and AI applications move further into clinical practice. Finally, Dr. Jung-Su CHANG emphasized that effective AI-supported nutrition care requires not only technological accuracy, but also human verification, clear governance, and appropriate workforce training to ensure safe and accountable use.
The day concluded with a roundtable forum co-chaired by Director Hung-Yi CHIOU and CEO Betty Ya-Wen CHIU, featuring discussions with Dr. Yu-Hung CHANG, Director Audrey TONG, Director Takehiro SUGIYAMA, Dr. Junbok LEE and Dr. Jung-Su CHANG. The session fostered in-depth policy dialogue among international officials and scholars on digital innovation for enhancing physical activity and nutrition management.
In the closing remarks, CEO Dr. Betty Ya-Wen Chiu noted that the two-day exchange had provided Taiwan with valuable insights from the experiences of Singapore, Japan, and Korea. She expressed her hope that all participants will carry forward the insights and momentum gained at the workshop to continue advancing the shared mission of health promotion and non-communicable disease prevention across the Asia-Pacific region.
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