The JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC) and the CUHK Centre for Bioethics proudly hosted Professor Daniel Wikler, from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, for his distinguished seminar “Population-level Bioethics: 35 Years of Contributions to the Public’s Health” on 30 July 2025.
In his seminar, Professor Wikler charted the evolution of bioethics from the Hippocratic Oath to the emergence of population-level bioethics. He demonstrated how the latter extends beyond the doctor-patient encounter to encompass social policies, environmental threats, workplace safety, and health-related behaviours. The discipline is burgeoning in today’s highly connected world, as every major public health decision, ranging from vaccine approval to health-system design, inherently requires moral judgment.
Drawing on vivid case studies, including the RotaShield vaccine debate, the ethical calculus behind Global Burden of Disease metrics, and the inequality indices that underpin universal health coverage, Professor Wikler revealed how value judgments in policy translate into lives saved or lost on a vast scale. In the face of global challenges, including climate change, future pandemics, and widening disparities, it is of increasing significance to integrate ethical insights into public health policy-making, education, and research.
Professor Wikler served as the first Staff Ethicist for the World Health Organization, and served as Staff Philosopher for the President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Professor Wikler was co-founder and second president of the International Association of Bioethics. His current research interests are ethical issues in population and international health, including the allocation of health resources, health research involving human subjects, ethical dilemmas arising in public health practice, and ethical dimensions of global tobacco control policy.
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