Heng Swee Keat Emphasises Sustainable Healthcare Innovations
SINGAPORE – Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat highlighted the need for sustained global effort to address long-term healthcare challenges, following the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking at the virtual opening of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Scientific Congress 2021 on September 17, he praised the unprecedented global scientific collaboration achieved during the pandemic but stressed that this momentum should be maintained to tackle ongoing health issues.
Despite the immense toll Covid-19 has taken on human life, with over 4.5 million deaths worldwide, Heng pointed out that the pandemic has catalysed international scientific cooperation on a scale never before seen. “The real challenge lies in how we can build upon the energy sparked by Covid-19 to revolutionise medicine and tackle the healthcare issues that lie ahead,” he said.
The acute phase of the pandemic will eventually subside, but long-term challenges such as ageing populations and chronic diseases will persist. Chronic diseases, which cause an estimated 40 million deaths each year, are a major public health crisis. Heng stressed the need for healthcare systems worldwide to rethink approaches, particularly in light of rapidly ageing populations.
To confront these issues, Heng outlined three key strategies:
Early Intervention: Proactively addressing health risks earlier, when treatments are more effective and cost-efficient. He referenced the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (Gusto) study, which discovered that one in five pregnant women in Singapore developed gestational diabetes.
Precision Medicine: Interventions must be more personalised, taking into account genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Heng called for national genomics programmes to better understand Asian genetics, as most such initiatives currently focus on Caucasian populations.
Cross-Disciplinary Innovation: The integration of ideas across various domains, including nature and biodiversity, can significantly benefit human health. Heng noted that 25% of modern medicines are derived from rainforest plants, and 70% of cancer drugs are inspired by nature.
These initial steps are just the beginning of what could be achieved in healthcare and scientific advancements, Heng concluded. He urged the scientific community to maintain the “can-do” spirit ignited by the pandemic to address long-term challenges, ultimately leading to a more sustainable and effective healthcare system.
