Dr. Margaret CHAN obtained her B.A. and M.D. degrees from the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1973 and 1977. She undertook postgraduate training in public health at the Singapore National University where she obtained her Master of Science degree in 1985. In 1991 she attended a full-time programme for management development at the Harvard Business School, U.S.A. In 1993 she was elected Foundation Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine in the specialty of Community Medicine. In 1997 she was awarded OBE in the Birthday Honours List of Her Majesty the Queen of United Kingdom. Also In 1997 she was conferred, by distinction, Fellowship of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom. 1n 1999 she was conferred, by his Majesty the King of Thailand, the Prince Mahidol Award in the field of public health for her leadership in the control of the outbreak of avian influenza in Hong Kong. Also in 1999 she was conferred an honorary degree, Doctor of Science, for her contribution to public health by the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
Dr. Margaret CHAN joined the Hong Kong civil service in 1978 and was appointed Director of Health in June 1994. She takes a strong interest to promoting healthy life style practices and in maximizing the contribution of primary health care towards improving the health of the community. In her seven-year tenure as Director of Health of Hong Kong, she has launched new preventive and promotive health care services for children, youths, the elderly population and women.
Dr. Margaret CHAN is committed to building up the core competencies of Hong Kong in public health, particularly, in the combat of emerging and re-emerging communicable diseases. She has brought in new initiatives to up-date communicable disease control, enhance training for public health physicians, establish local and international collaboration and substantially improve public health laboratory services. Since 1991 Dr Chan has been appointed to serve on various committees on Traditional Chinese Medicine. She plays a key role in formulating policies, establishing the regulatory framework and in designing the strategic plan for development of Chinese Medicine in Hong Kong.
Dr. CHAN is also very active in the public health work outside Hong Kong, regularly attending regional and international meetings for furtherance of collaboration in public health. In 1998, she was elected the Chairman of the 49th Session of Regional Committee Meeting for the Western Pacific Region, World Health Organization. In 1999, she was elected the Vice-Chairman of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Working Group of the World Health Organization.