MINISTER ONG YE KUNG RENEWS CALL FOR MULTILATERALISM AT G20 HEALTH MINISTERIAL MEETING AND JOINT FINANCE AND HEALTH MINISTERIAL MEETING, SOUTH AFRICA

         Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, led the Singapore delegation to the G20 Health Ministerial Meeting (HMM) and Joint Finance and Health Ministerial Meeting (JFHMM) in Limpopo, South Africa from 6 to 7 November 2025. In his interventions, Mr Ong renewed the call for multilateral coordination and co-operation in addressing global health issues such as the rise of non-communicable diseases, pandemic preparedness, and universal healthcare.

2         Mr Ong delivered interventions at the High-Level Meeting on Health Financing for Universal Health Coverage and the G20 HMM.

3         Speaking at the HMM, Mr Ong commented that while multilateralism is facing headwinds and WHO is facing a significant reduction in budget, the global community needs to push on with multilateral efforts. Noting that WHO has taken decisive steps to sharpen its focus and priorities and enhance its cost effectiveness, Mr Ong urged member states to continue to do their part to support multilateralism in healthcare.

4         On the sidelines of the Meetings, Mr Ong met his foreign counterparts, including Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's (Africa CDC) Director-General, Dr Jean Kaseya; Germany's Federal Minister of Health, Ms Nina Warken; Ireland's Minister for Health, Ms Jennifer Carroll MacNeill; the People's Republic of China's Vice-Minister of the National Health Commission, Dr Liu Jinfeng; and Canada's Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Greg Orencsak.

5         The G20 HMM and JFHMM are annual meetings comprising 19 countries, the European Union, the African Union, along with other invited countries. Singapore has been invited to attend both meetings as a guest country by South Africa, which currently holds the G20 presidency. The next G20 Presidency will be held by the United States of America, and there are currently no health meetings scheduled for next year.

6         Prior to the HMM and JFHMM, Mr Ong also made a working visit to Cape Town where he met the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Paul Mashatile, as well as South Africa’s Deputy Minister for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Seiso Mohai and Deputy Minister for Social Development, Mr Ganief Hendricks on 4 November.