As part of the 18th APRU Global Health Conference in Kuala Lumpur, all participants are invited to join one of six dynamic two-hour Working Group sessions. These sessions provide an opportunity for in-depth dialogue, co-creation, and regional collaboration on some of the most pressing issues shaping global health in the Asia-Pacific.
Each Working Group brings together leading experts, practitioners, and participants from diverse disciplines to:
- Examine critical challenges across health, ethics, humanitarian practice, education, and equity.
- Share knowledge and experiences from across the Asia-Pacific network.
- Generate actionable outputs, ranging from consensus statements and declarations to frameworks and teaching tools that will guide research, policy, and practice.
The six sessions span a broad spectrum of global health concerns:
AGEING
Combatting Ageism in the Asia-Pacific
Ageism—or discrimination based on age—remains a pervasive and often overlooked barrier to inclusion and equity across the Asia-Pacific region. As Asia-Pacific societies rapidly age, addressing ageism is both a moral and practical imperative. Combatting ageism is critical for healthy ageing and for building inclusive, resilient societies that recognise the value of older adults as contributors to economic, social, and intergenerational wellbeing. This workshop, led by Professors Zhaoli Dai-Keller, Jonathan Guillemot, and Andrew Sixsmith, will explore how ageism manifests across systems, institutions, and cultures in the region, both in overt and more subtle ways. Participants will engage in collaborative roundtables to co-develop recommendations for addressing ageism at individual, family, community, institutional, and policy levels. The Social Ecological Model will be used as a framework. Utilising the collective expertise of the APRU network and the guidance from the UN Decade on Healthy Ageing, we aim to produce a consensus statement outlining guiding principles and actionable strategies to promote age equity across Asia-Pacific societies.
BIOETHICS, EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Case Studies on the Ethics of AI for Health
In this interactive session, we will join two Working Groups (Bioethics and Education and Technology) to further the conversation on the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI) in health. The leaders are Catherine Zhou from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Leander Marquez from the University of the Philippines. Participants will collaboratively develop/expand short case studies focused on ethical issues in the use of AI in health. Through guided discussions in small groups, participants will explore real-world scenarios and challenges related to privacy, bias, accountability, informed consent, and other ethical dilemmas present in the use of AI-driven health care and research. The session aims to generate practical, thought-provoking case studies that can be used as teaching and training tools for students, practitioners, and policymakers working at the intersection of AI and health ethics.
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND HEALTH
A Call & Commitment to Humanity: APRU GH Humanitarian Aid and Health Declaration on Humanitarian Crises
Political shifts can halt donor-funded humanitarian assistance. These changes interrupt critical services, slow emergency response, weaken resilience, disrupt data collection in crisis zones, and ultimately impact human well-being while straining global partnerships. This interactive session—led by Ann Toh and Suhyoon Choi, and Shuaibu Musa—seeks to uncover opportunity and hope by reimagining humanitarian practice. We will explore challenges and spotlight “positive deviants” who innovate despite resource constraints and discuss how science and evidence can guide action in data-scarce contexts. The workshop culminates with the presentation of a draft APRU Declaration on Humanitarian Crises, inviting participants to share experiences, insights, and case studies to finalise a shared ethical commitment that advances community resilience, local leadership, global solidarity, and the spirit of our shared humanity.
MENTAL HEALTH
Addressing the Student Mental Health Crisis in Asia-Pacific Higher Education
Many Asia-Pacific economies are facing unprecedented mental health crises among youth and young adults. In this interactive session led by Xin (Summer) Xu, we will begin by discussing the diverse mental health needs of university students. We will share the results of a recent survey of APRU member institutions, which took inventory of the types of programmes and services offered by APRU universities, as well as the gaps and challenges that universities face in meeting the increasing demand for mental health services. Drawing on these findings, we will highlight key insights and share examples of innovative and/or effective initiatives that may serve as models for other universities seeking to enhance student mental health services. These programmes reflect a continuum of care, spanning prevention, early intervention, and treatment. In addition to examining direct service provision, we will consider how the broader institutional environment—including academic policies, campus culture, and student engagement—can play a critical role in fostering student mental well-being. The session will conclude with a collaborative discussion to generate actionable recommendations, which will inform the development of a white paper outlining promising, multi-level approaches for promoting holistic mental health support within higher education institutions across the region.
NCDs
Advancing Equity in Women’s Cancer Prevention: The Kuala Lumpur Declaration for the Asia-Pacific Region
This workshop, led by Claire Chenweng Zhong and Jason Huang, aims to promote equity in women’s cancer prevention across the Asia-Pacific region. It addresses the increasing incidence of women’s cancers and the persistent gender disparities in prevention and care. Experts will lead discussions to identify key challenges, knowledge gaps, and effective strategies to enhance access to resources and services for women. The findings will aim to be published in a peer-reviewed journal to inform future public health policies and advance gender equity in cancer prevention.
NURSING
Redesigning Nursing Education for Future Healthcare Systems
With health systems changing quickly in response to demographic forces, technological innovation, global pandemics, and climate change, the need to revolutionise nursing education has never been more urgent. During this roundtable discussion led by Erlinda Palaganas, we will highlight shared educational challenges and examine new paradigms of nursing education, attuned to future health system requirements and international health priorities. Participants will discuss best practices in curriculum redesign, simulation-based education, interprofessional education, digital and AI integration, and how global competencies and sustainability values can be embedded in nursing programmes. The session will also examine APRU member universities’ internationalisation of nursing education through faculty exchange, collaborative research, and regional accreditation arrangements. The end goal is to produce a joint framework for transforming nursing education that includes recommendations for creating culturally aware and technology-literate nurses.
To facilitate meaningful participation, an invitation to select a preferred Working Group will be sent to all registered participants one month before the conference. This ensures that participants can plan ahead, contribute actively, and join discussions most aligned with their expertise and interests.
Together, these Working Groups underscore APRU’s commitment to regional solutions, interdisciplinary collaboration, and global solidarity. Participants are encouraged to actively engage, contribute their expertise, and shape outputs that will have enduring impact on health and wellbeing in the Asia-Pacific and beyond.
