Launch of Inter-Agency Taskforce to Enhance Health Outcomes Among Our Young

JOINT MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND MINISTRY OF EDUCATION PRESS RELEASE

13 April 2016 

    Minister of State for Health Dr Lam Pin Min and Minister of State for Education Dr Janil Puthucheary will jointly lead an inter-agency taskforce to guide the development of NurtureSG, a plan to enhance health outcomes among our young. This was announced at the Ministry of Health (MOH)’s Committee of Supply Debate today.

2    Lifestyle habits are often formed when young and carried into adulthood. It is therefore important to ensure that our children develop healthy behaviours early. NurtureSG will focus on fostering healthy behaviours in our young, by equipping them with skills and creating a conducive environment for them to embrace healthy living. Parents, caregivers, educators and the community will be roped in to achieve this aim.

3    In the longer term, the aim of NurtureSG is to make an impact on the health outcomes of our children and youth, such as reducing the prevalence of lifestyle risk factors for chronic diseases, and promoting overall well-being. With a healthy body and mind, this sets a strong foundation for the health of Singaporeans and the future of Singapore.

4    The objectives of the Taskforce are to:

• Develop new strategies and programmes to address salient health issues and worrying trends among children and youth;

• Strengthen health promotion efforts at tertiary institutions;

• Bring health promotion beyond schools into the family and  community; and

• Increase targeted efforts to improve the preventive health services for socio-economically disadvantaged children. 

5    The Taskforce comprises representatives from various Ministries, the Health Promotion Board, Sport Singapore and the Early Childhood Development Agency, as well as medical professionals and academics. The list of NurtureSG Taskforce members is in Annex A.

6    MOH and the Ministry of Education (MOE) will launch a public consultation later this month to engage parents, caregivers, youths, and the private sector, including pre-schools, to seek ideas on how to encourage and enable our children and youth to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.

7    Details of the public consultation will be released later this month.

Annex A

NurtureSG Taskforce Members