APACPH EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING 2017
Minutes of Meeting
6th February 2017
Time: 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Venue: Orchid Room, Sheraton Grand Incheon Hotel
The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m. by President, Dr. Myongsei Sohn
Attendance
Present:
Executive Board Members
Dr. Myongsei Sohn – President
Dr. Masamine Jimba – President-Elect and Regional Director, Japan
Dr. Bruce Maycock – Secretary-General (via Skype)
Dr. Low Wah Yun – Vice President 1 and APJPH (Editor-in-chief)
Dr. Indika Karunatilake – Vice President 2 and Regional Director, South Asia (via Skype)
Dr. Maznah Dahlui – Secretary and Regional Director, Malaysia,
Dr. Hung Yi-Chiou – Treasurer
Dr. Philip Baker – Regional Director, Australia
Dr. Prayoon Fongsatitkul – Regional Director, Thailand
Dr. Betty Chiu Ya Wen – Regional Director, Chinese Taipei
Dr. Yuanan Lu – Regional Director, USA (via Skype)
Dr. Phitaya Charupoonphol – Immediate Past President
Dr. Byung-Joo Park – Regional Director, Korea
Dr. Joshua Sir – proxy to ICUH/ 49th APACPH Conference Host
Dr. So Yoon Kim – Representative for BioHealth Law & Ethics Collaboration
Staff – Executive Officer
Ms. Camelina Chan
Observers
Ms. Si Woo Kim – Yonsei University
Mr. Dong Hyun Lee – Yonsei University
Mr. Sang Hyo Lee – Yonsei University
Ms. Yurim Hyun – Yonsei University
Ms. Jae Eun Lee – Yonsei University
Apologies
Dr. Agustin Kusumayati – Regional Director, Indonesia
Dr. Elahe Nezami – Regional Director, USA
Dr. Liming Li – Regional Director, China
Ms. Nishi Himanshi – Early Career Network Coordinator
The Executive Council Minutes at Teikyo University, Tokyo (15th September 2016) were approved (proposed by Dr. Prayoon Fongsatitkul, seconded by Dr. HY Chiou).
1. Welcome Speech by President APACPH
Dr. Myongsei Sohn welcomed the Executive Board members.
2. The President APACPH Opening Remarks
Dr. Myongsei Sohn expresses his gratitude and sincere appreciation for the participation of all the board members who volunteered their precious time for this. He sincerely thanked Dr. Kim and her team members at Yonsei University for the effort to host the Executive Council meeting and the 49th APACPH Conference. He then hoped for a meaningful discussion and significant expansion of APACPH activities.
The report is in Appendix 1
3. Role Call
4. Report from Treasurer
Dr. HY. Chiou reported the summary of the finances and requested the secretariat to send gentle reminders to the members to pay up their membership fee. The current balance in Taipei account is USD $160,303.39. The available funds maintain positive since 2013 till the current year. He highlighted that APACPH is to maintain its current supporting members and recruit new institutions to join APACPH as more funds will be needed to support new initiatives. He also reminded to send out more rounds of reminder on membership payment and invitation letter to attend this year’s APACPH Conference as soon as possible.
No changes in the Budget for 2017 which has been presented at GA
The report is in Appendix 2.
5. APACPH Secretary Report
Dr. Maznah gave a summary of the activities from the secretary office throughout the year 2016. She raised the concern that there are not enough materials to publish the newsletter. Dr. Sohn conveys his apologies due to lack of materials for the APACPH newsletter. He will invite members to provide more material for the newsletter.
The report is in Appendix 3.
6. Report from Secretary-General
Dr. Bruce Maycock gave a summary of the activities of the Secretary-General office.
Pertaining to the UK’s potential funds, Dr. Jimba inquired on the deadline for submitting the proposal. He suggested that members should have a small group discussion to come up with a proposal from APACPH instead of waiting for them to propose. Dr. Bruce responded that the deadline for the fund has passed for last year. Nevertheless, the Global Challenges Research Fund will continue for the next 3 to 4 years. The universities are still seeking to build partnerships but has to be with middle and low-income countries. However, only one proposal from Vietnam which was building on the existing collaboration with the Australian University was received last year. Dr. Bruce agreed that bringing a smaller group discussion would be more fruitful. Dr. Bruce added that if the proposal from Vietnam gets funding, it would be a good case for us.
Dr. Low suggested that an ad-hoc committee is to be set up to look into the research capacity in helping other lower-income and developing countries.
Dr. Maznah proposed that it is high time that APACPH comes up with its own proposal as a consortium. Dr. HY Chiou also agreed with Dr. Maznah and he suggested that we could focus on SDG Goals.
Dr. Sohn commented that future discussion headed by Dr. Jimba should be continued after the ECM especially discussing on the Future of APACPH and Research activities.
Dr. Joshua added that Korea is the steering country of Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) for this year and there will be funding available for Cambodia. He commented that the GHSA funding could be another source of funding for APAPCH other than the Global Health Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
The report is in Appendix 4.
7. Update on Regional Office Reports
All regional directors reported their activities in their respective regions.
Dr. Park reported that Samyook University is preparing the documentation for a site – visit.
Dr. Philip requested the list of paid/unpaid members in his region for him to follow-up. Dr. Philip also added that he has been promoting the annual conference to universities in his region and requested the conference host to provide more information on their website.
Dr. Lu reported the Office of Public Health Studies (OPHS) hosted the UH-Fudan Public Health Summit in September to link global health challenges with health policy and reform, aging, and environmental degradation. There have been very active student exchanges and research collaboration among universities in China. This year, the University of Hawaii committed to send at least
5 staffs to the upcoming conference in Korea.
Dr. Jimba shared that he has been appointed as the Vice President of the international union for the Health Promotion Education and the member of the scientific committee. He is planning a new research in the area of Health Promotion Education and link with APACPH network. He concluded that in Japan, new schools of public health are being setup and he will try to encourage them to join APACPH.
APACPH Satellite Symposium
Dr. Park shared that the PH Association opens 60th anniversary from 7 April to 8 April. He requested financial support from APACPH for the satellite symposium. However, the secretariat has yet to receive his proposal. Dr. Sohn suggested Dr. Park to submit his proposal to apply for satellite symposium.
Dr. HY Chiou and Dr. Betty also keen to apply for a satellite meeting in October 2017 back to back with Global Health Forum in Taipei hosted by Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare. Dr. Betty added that this would be a good time to recruit more members from the region.
The secretariat has received 2 proposals from Mahidol University and the University of Malaya.
Dr. Prayoon submitted the proposal on the 1st APACPH Regional Conference at Mahidol University hosted by Mahidol University, Mahasarakham University and Burapha University from 24th – 26th May 2017. Five speakers among the APACPH top management were invited to the conference. APACPH will sponsor the flights and ground transport, and hotel accommodation for the speakers from APACPH to a total amount of not more than USD5,000. The host is to mention APACPH as the co-sponsor and its logo should be included in publication and publicity.
Second proposal had been received from the University of Malaya who will organize the 5th International Conference on Health Literacy and Population Health (conference by Asian Health Literacy Association) on the 12th – 14th November 2017. They had allocated a symposium to be sponsored by APACPH with the theme “Global Health” which can be considered APACPH satellite symposium. APACPH will select the speakers and sponsor their flights and ground transport as well as their accommodation with the total amount not more than USD5,000. Similarly, the host is to mention APACPH as the co-sponsor and its logo should be included in publication and publicity. Proposed speakers for the APACPH satellite symposium on Global health were to be selected from Mahidol University, Taipei Medical University and Dr. Don Elisio from the University of Xi’an Jiatong, China.
Dr. Jimba shared that the Global Health Conference will be held in November 2017 in Japan and he will be one of the chairperson in the conference. At the moment it is still under planning stage, and he also showed his interest in hosting a satellite meeting during the conference.
Recommendation from the floors:
Dr. Maznah reminded that the budget which has been approved for each satellite symposium is USD5,000. For this year, the Secretariat has received 2 applications (from University of Malaya and Mahidol University) for the satellite meetings. Hence, Dr. Maznah suggested that the sponsorship for satellite symposiums were to be limited to 3 or 4 meetings per year.
Dr. Maznah proposed that APACPH will sponsor the flight and accommodation for the speakers (up to USD5,000), however, local transportation and registration fee will need to be borne by the host.
The meeting had unanimously approved both proposals (Mahidol University and University of Malaya) with allocated fund amounting USD5,000 respectively.
The report is in Appendix 5.
8. Accreditation
8.1 3rd Accreditation Exercise
The University of Malaya has completed the APACPH accreditation process. The Accreditation Committee has recommended the University of Malaya to be accredited during the General Assembly, 2017.
Recommendation has been passed unanimously and the University of Malaya will be received certification at GA
8.2 Future Accreditation Exercise
Accreditation 2018 – Yonsei University & Seoul National University
The report is in Appendix 6.
9. Early Career Network
The report is in Appendix 7.
10. Revision of APACPH Constitution
Dr. Kim presented the revision of APACPH constitutions to ECM members. The revised APACPH constitution has been posted on the website for members to provide comments, however, no feedback was received from the members.
Dr. Kim proceeds to Article II on the Purpose of the Association.
Dr. Jimba recommended the term ‘happiness’ to be changed to ‘well-being’ as in Section 1.c.
Recommendation has been passed unanimously
Issue Raised: Positions of Secretary General and secretary
Dr. Maznah reminded that this issue was brought up because in the previous meetings there was a concern on the duplication role of both positions. Furthermore, most organizations usually have either secretary general or secretary, and not both. Dr. Maznah stated that there are many tasks and assignments that are conducted by the secretariat which are supervised and coordinated by the secretary in a full-time manner. Therefore, she proposes that if the position of the secretary is to be removed, than the tasks are to be taken up by the secretary general.
Dr. Low agreed that the role of the secretary to be subsumed under SG and it is ought to be stated in the constitutions. Therefore, if the position of Secretary is to be abolished, the role must be taken up by somebody.
Dr. Bruce commented that there will be issues if the role is to be subsumed under the SG. Firstly, at present, the secretary responded directly under the President. Hence, by placing the role of the secretary under SG, it would cross the line of authority. He added in the international organization, there is a distinct role between the SG and the Secretary. Secondly, the Secretariat at the moment is being subsidized by the University of Malaya and a good support from the hierarchy. Hence, Dr. Bruce commented that it is not necessary for the role of secretary to be subsumed under SG because the Secretary is to answer directly to the President. Dr. Bruce also added that the role of SG is focus on capacity building, international activity, and quite different from the role of a Secretary.
Dr. Maznah added that because of the secretariat office needs to be partially supported by the institutions and officially registered in the respective country, therefore the role of Secretary and Treasurer has been converted as appointed instead of elected.
Dr. HY Chiou commented that in other organization the Secretary-General is appointed by the President. Hence, the secretariat office should be governed by the SG. The terms of the SG is the same as the President.
Dr. Phitaya also commented that the Secretary must report directly to the President. At present, the organization can run on the current structure. SG also has many other tasks and we still need a secretary to hold the secretariat office.
Dr. Sohn suggested that correction on Article V. Section 2.6 (Secretary-General) to be made and discussed again. At present, the SG is an elected and Secretary is appointed position. Referring to other organization, the Secretary General is usually the one that runs the secretariat office. Section 2.6c may not be needed to be stated in the constitution. This section will need further discussion in the next ECM meeting and if it is agreeable, it will be passed during the coming General Assembly. APACPH should try to minimize the elected position. President-elect is automatically inaugurated to President. The vice-presidents and treasurer have to be elected position, but SG position should be appointed by the President with his term ended later than the appointing president.
Dr. Bruce commented the issue of having a large number of elected officers is important to be reconsidered. He added that we do not lose the energy and some of the activity that the SG has traditionally done and those task in special projects etc. He concerned that running the secretariat under the SG is a complicated task. The role of SG should remain around capacity building and exploration of new opportunities.
Dr. Maznah suggested that the special projects/task can be delegated to the existing Vice Presidents and the SG to take up the existing secretary role and task instead. She added it would not be cost effective by having 2 vice presidents and not given any special tasks. She also commented that the existing task done by the SG could be taken up by the 2 vice presidents.
Dr. HY Chiou suggested that the secretariat office to be set up permanently in a country and governs by the elected SG. Dr. Phitaya also agreed with Dr. HY Chiou suggestion so that the routine job will not be disrupted. He added that any suggestion must be coupled with commitment and presented it at General Assembly. Dr. Phitaya also commented that if the SG appointed by the President, it would work better in term of management.
Dr. Sohn recommended that the term for the president is 2 years and for SG is 5 years. Dr. Maznah proposed that the role of the secretary to be subsumed under the SG position, and the task currently taken up by SG to be delegated to the Vice Presidents.
Dr. Byung suggested that until we could be financially stable, at that time we could hire a permanent SG.
Dr. Sohn commented that the present position is currently voluntary. To create a permanent position at the moment is not feasible. Referring to the UN model, the SG is elected among the EC members and passed at the GA. The SG were elected every 4-5 years, and if he/she works very hard, his/her term can be extended to a maximum of 10 years. While, the president and vice presidents term was only 2 years and their election is by the GA. Further discussions will be needed on this matter.
The report is in Appendix 8.
10. Collaboration Initiatives Reports
Dr. Kim reported on the collaborative initiative on Public Health Law & Ethic.
Issue Raised: Lack of reports from collaborative initiatives
The secretariat only received 1 report from the collaborative initiatives.
Recommendation from the floor:
Dr. Sohn commented that there is a need to review all the collaborative initiatives every 3 years. If the outcome is good, APACPH will continue to support the initiatives. If otherwise, we should discuss whether or not to continue to support the initiatives. He requested the EC member to present more concrete ideas at the next meeting in August.
Dr. Jimba also commented that we need a proper guideline to continue or discontinue the collaborative. Dr. Maznah added that there is already a committee being set up headed by Dr. Low. Dr. Philip also suggested that we looked into new research instead.
Dr. Bruce suggested that we could work along the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where there is an opportunity for APACPH to reposition itself in the future.
Dr. Philip suggested collaborative initiatives on teaching and learning among the APACPH members.
Dr. Phitaya commented that if there is no progress report provided by the collaborative centers, it could mean that they are no longer interested to continue with the project.
Dr. Sohn recommended that the timeline and the progress of collaboration initiatives to be put into the constitution. Dr. Kim is requested to put the collaborative initiatives matter into the constitution.
Dr. Prayoon recommended a separate discussion on the Future Direction of APACPH.
The report is in Appendix 9.
11. ICUH
Dr. Joshua reported on the ICUH progress and new development.
The report is in Appendix 10.
12. ECN
Dr. Indika reported on the Early Career Network progress.
The report is in Appendix 11.
13. APJPH
Dr. Low reported on the journal progress with the impact factor 1.722.
The report is in Appendix 12.
14. 49th APACPH Conference 2017
Dr. Joshua presented the 49th APACPH Conference to the board member.
The abstracts will be open in March and closed by end of May.
The Conference agreement needs to be revised to include a special rate for APACPH member and if there is a profit gain, 10% should be given back to APACPH.
Dr. Maznah reminded that there is a seed fund USD5,000 for any APACPH Conference organizer. Hence, Dr. Joshua was encouraged to apply for the seed fund.
Dr. Betty suggested that in Taiwan, students who get their abstracts accepted could get partial funding from the institutions, hence she requested the conference organizer to be more generous in accepting their abstracts. She also added that having a parallel symposium with GHSA could enable the conference organizer to get extra funding.
The report is in Appendix 13.
15. 50th APACPH Conference 2018
The secretariat will send invitation letter to Mahidol University and Taipei Medical University to host the 50th APACPH Conference with the given dateline by the end of May 2018. After that, the Secretariat office will invite other members to host the conference.
16. Election 2017
Dr. Khairul Anuar – MAHSA University has been appointed as the Election Officer.
Position for election: President-Elect, Secretary-General, Vice President 1 and Vice President 2
Dr. Maznah reminded that there was a mistake in the earlier election when it comes to re-election during the General Assembly whereby the proxy of the electoral officer had asked all the deans at the GA to vote when they had actually voted online.
Therefore, she suggested that those who have not voted online, only he/she can be allowed to vote during the General Assembly. And the new vote count will be added to the online votes. Dr. Low agreed with the suggestion.
Dr. Maznah volunteered to represent the electoral officer (if he is not available) during the General Assembly with the condition she is not running for any elected position.
Meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
The minuted can be downloaded from the following link
