Singapore is contributing an additional $13 million to the global pandemic fund

SINGAPORE – Singapore has contributed an additional US$10 million ($13 million) to the global pandemic fund, the health and finance ministries said in a joint statement on Nov 1.

The new infusion – announced at an engagement event attended by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on the sidelines of the Group of 20 joint finance and health ministerial meeting in Brazil on October 31 – brings Singapore’s total contribution so far to $20 million .

“This reflects our (Singapore’s) ongoing commitment to strengthen the global health architecture in preparation for the next pandemic,” Mr Ong said at the hiring event.

He suggested that the pandemic fund, to maximize its impact, should focus on two areas: global surveillance and improving the abilities of less developed countries to prepare for and respond to future pandemics, particularly through capacity building their work.

“Every day of early warning can make a major difference, between life and death, or confinement and freedom. Each country must be the eyes and ears of the others,” he said.

Pandemic Fund was established by the World Bank in 2022 to help developing countries better prepare for pandemics, following the devastation to economies and health systems that Covid-19 has left around the globe.

It is intended to fill critical funding gaps and promote a more coordinated approach to prevention, preparedness and response, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.

Singapore contributed $10 million at the bottom in 2022.

At the health ministerial meeting, Mr Ong emphasized the importance of digitizing healthcare, particularly through the integration of electronic health records in various care settings, to improve health duration or years spent in good health and enable continuous care, seamless and artificial intelligence (AI) innovations.

Digitization and integration, he said, eliminates “frustrating and unnecessary repeated testing and screening.”

They also enable “healthcare AI innovations,” he added.

He also stressed during the joint finance and health ministerial meeting the need for finance and health ministers to jointly address the issues of health care financing and ageing.

“An older population means a greater burden of disease and with it a greater tax burden,” he said.

“Health is already, in many countries, the largest expenditure and may rise further, in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product), and there is a risk that it will rise unsustainably,” he added. .

Mr Ong said that “the fate and interests of the ministries of health and finance are closely intertwined because of aging and the fundamental solution is actually to keep the elderly active and healthy by addressing the social determinants of health”.