SPEECH BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND COORDINATING MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICIES, AT THE COMMUNITY CARE WORKPLAN SEMINAR, 7 MAY 2026

Dr Gerard Ee, Chairman, Agency for Integrated Care (AIC)

Friends, partners, colleagues,

1.            A very good morning. Next week, 15^th of May, I will be five years in MOH. I remember five years ago when I arrived in MOH, the first thing I talked about was how to get out of COVID-19. And the second thing I talked about was preventive care, population health and Healthier SG.

2.             That was done in the work plan seminar of MOH, probably 2022 – I talked about Healthier SG. Then immediately, I got feedback from my staff that the community care sector felt left out, I never talked about community care, a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out), so I've been talking nonstop about community care since.  I hope the changes are fast enough, if not fast enough, please give me the feedback. But it is a great pleasure to join everyone here again for this year’s Work Plan Seminar 2026.  

Super-Aged Singapore

3.             Two years ago, I said Singapore would become a super aged society. Wasn't a prediction, it was just an extrapolation of our population trend. The reactions were mixed – some were gloom, some uncertain, some reflective, some  ambivalent. And today I have bad news and good news, you can decide which is which.

4.            So we have crossed the critical juncture. As of now, more than 21% of our citizens are age 65 and above - this is the population pyramid. When we add up, we have crossed 21%. But we have not reached the crest of ageing. Because if you look at the pyramid, below 65  there's actually many more people. Look at the 60 to 64 line, it’s actually the bulk, the biggest segment of our population, and they will cross the age of 65 over the next five years. So if you think we are not super aged enough, in the next five years, we will be super, super aged, and it will push the share of citizens age 65 and above well beyond, well beyond 21%. Japan, for example, is 30% and we might reach that.

5.            On top of that, about 200,000 seniors are now in the 70 to 74 age, and in the next five years, it will be age 75 and above. And our statistics show that at these ages, more seniors will experience ill health, and they will need more care and support.

6.            So rapid ageing can jolt the economy, strain department adequacy, stretch our healthcare system or stress our healthcare system. So then what is the good news? The good news is we can do something about it. Number one, we can properly soften this shock by making decisive policy changes related to work, our infrastructure, our healthcare system, our economic vitality, our fiscal sustainability - we have responses.

7.            And second, I think, most importantly, actually nothing magically happens when you are 64 years old and 364 days, versus when you turn 65. It's just another day and you wake up, you are the same person as you are. 65 is a calendar milestone, it is not a medical milestone, not a life milestone. So most of us are not very different at 65 compared to when you're 64.

8.            In Singapore, we are in a very good place from over 400,000 seniors visited by our Silver Generation Ambassadors (SGA). They worked very hard, and they visited 400,000 seniors in 2025, they found that nine in 10 of those 65 and above, they are well and they are independent. In fact, when I do home visits, many people at 65 they are working, and many of them choose to just work and do something.

9.            When I was a child, this was very different. My grandfather passed away in his 60s. My grandmother in the 50s, both of cancer. So 65 was considered old, my image of my grandfather when he passed away when he was 66 is a very old man. Many fell sick and passed on in their mid to late 60s or even early 70s. But today, 65 is no longer that old. I always get tricked when these uncle and aunties come to me and I say hello, I asked how old you are they’d say “你猜, 你猜” (have a guess). It’s one of the hardest questions posed to any MP. And you always know, whatever I think he or she is minus 20.

10.         But truly, you will guess wrongly. After you guess, okay, maybe 70, maybe 60 something, they’ll say 85. And you will see that they are really sprightly and supercharged. I think 65 therefore today is really not old. And in a few years time, we hope we can say the same for those in their 70s or in the mid 70s, energetic, fit, living their best lives. And I think this is possible with the right pair, with the right medical treatment.

11.         And this is the big endeavor we are pursuing for Singapore and the purpose of Healthier SG, Age Well SG, which includes all the AACs that we have set up. Our AACs have come a long way. They are no longer just centres set up for seniors, to run activities. There are places where seniors, they step up to lead and to work in the AACs. They organise activities, support members, and build a social network for their fellow residents.

12.         In many AACS, seniors are the ones who open and close the centers. They help it to keep it going, even after office hours. They deliver meals. They serve as medical escorts and befriend those who need extra help, some of them in action on the picture.

13.         Volunteering to help others – actually, this is one of the best forms of active ageing, and a key focus area for us. So various agencies are involved. MOH, AIC, MCCY, PA, we are working together to make a quick move on senior volunteering. We want to make it easier, want to make it more meaningful. And I will want to talk more about this topic in the next few months, when our plans are ready.

14.         So today, I will return back to Age Well SG, which is something I spoke about for a few work plan seminars already, I will take stock of where we are, the progress we made since the last time we met, and what are the key initiatives. I will use back the framework I've used for many years, which is the CHOPE framework. So I'm consistent,  come back to CHOPE over and over again – you can read the words and what they mean – very familiar.

15.         And this year, I will just use CHOPE slightly differently. Instead of going letter by letter, I will highlight two key initiatives and show how each one depends on different parts of CHOPE coming together.

O(utreach) through P(artnerships)

16.         Let me start first, strengthening outreach to seniors through partnership. And the reverse is also true. Outreach is done better when you build stronger partnership.  So three years ago, at the AAC town hall, I shared how AIC’s SGO would support AACs in outreach. I remember a lot people clapped at that point in time.

17.         Seniors who need help are referred to the right services, including AACs. So over the past three years, SGO has reached out to almost 600,000 seniors, 60% of Singaporeans, 60 and above, our SGAs have done a wonderful job. I think they deserve a big round of applause, thank you very much.

18.         But I am also a PA grassroot advisor, and in my role, I also do many home visits i. So sometimes I visit a senior, they say “你们的人又来了” (your team is here again), people came or the AIC SGO ambassador also came, so repeated visit. But I also know there is always a 10 to 20% gap in SGO’s records of seniors living in an estate. This is because some seniors register one address here, but they move away from the address to take care of grandchildren somewhere else. And the reverse is also true, when they move into the estates for similar reasons, and both sets of seniors  either forgot or not bothered to update their residential address. So SGOs as hard as they try, their record always, my sense is there's a 10 to 20% error rate.

19.         So to really know the seniors in an estate comprehensively and thoroughly, I concluded that there is no shortcut. You have to keep visiting the households, find out who moved out, who moved in, who moved on, and keep refreshing our records. And whenever you see a senior’s registered address is different from his actual living address, persuade them to change their ICA records, and that's what we have been doing.

20.         So two years ago, with my grassroot volunteers and AACs in Sembawang Central, we set out to find every senior – eliminate that 10 to 20% error rate by knocking on the doors of more than 10,000 households. And then we check, is it correct? Sometimes yes,  the 90% is correct, 10% of the time is actually incorrect.

21.         So AIC, PA and our AAC operators, namely Blossom Seeds and TOUCH, they have been suffering under me. We came together, we combined the data each of us had, and combined them into a more comprehensive and accurate database, at least for the division, for Sembawang Central. By doing so, we actually achieve a very high engagement rate for seniors, physically living in Sembawang Central, I think, more than 70%.

22.         And this is not just a data collection exercise. It is about visibility, about coordination. Between PA, between Blossom Seeds, between TOUCH, between AIC, and also responsibility for people who might otherwise remain unseen and unknown. When we know our seniors, where they are, how they are doing, we can target support to those who need it the most.

23.         AIC and PA will now coordinate efforts to bring this best practice in Sembawang Central, which is really honed through sheer hard work and trial and error, to other divisions in Singapore.

24.         But I must alert you of something. During this exercise that we have done over the last couple of years, I encountered many staff, managers, volunteers, who worry that what we do is not right. Very strange, right? They think it's not right because of PDPA, data privacy. You know, these days when something cannot be done or you don’t want it done, just say PDPA. Seriously, I got so much of it in the last two years, I had nightmares about it. So some people really have a genuine concern: are we allowed under PDPA to share data, combine them, so that we can do a better job to help our seniors? They say, are we doing the right thing? Let me assure you - the answer is we are doing the right thing.

25.         The Government recently passed two bills in Parliament, just in case people are not convinced. We passed two bills in Parliament, the Health Information Bill under MOH, and the Public Sector (Governance) (Amendment) Bill under PMO. So let me assure you, together, these legislative changes provide a clear legal framework to enable data sharing amongst partners in community care. You don't have to be a government agency, if you're a partner in community care, the law allows us to now share data, but so long as it is for a good public purpose, and safeguards are set up - so it's totally possible.

26.         So whoever say, I cannot do this due to PDPA - you say, no, there is the Health Information Bill and there's the PSGA Amendment Bill. It's whether you want to.

E(ngagement) to keep Seniors Well

27.         Second, once we reach the seniors, we must keep them active and socially connected. AACs have made strong progress, and we are now firmly anchored in the community. When I speak to the seniors, anyone I pick on the street, shake their hand, talk to them: “Uncle, Aunty, do you know about AACs?”. Sometimes they don't know the term AACs, but you name the name of the community care provider, they will know. They say oh, got activities. So, they are either regulars, or they know about it. But not free, not free to go because must take care of grandchildren. That's fine. So either way, it is a good sign. The visibility and the awareness is very, very high.

28.         Two years ago, I set the target for each AAC to engage 30% of the seniors in the area they are in charge of. 30% is not good for PSLE, but it's not a low bar at all for AACs, because many seniors are still working or already have full daily routines and commitments. So if you can touch 30%, it is actually quite an achievement already. Last year around this time, we projected one in four AACs can hit this 30% target.

29.         In 2024, one in four AACs can reach this 30% target. Last year, in the middle of last year, one in two AACs are on track to meet this 30% target. We don't have 2026 data yet. I'm sure more than one in two can meet this 30% target. I attribute this to stronger outreach and more creative, higher quality programs that draw seniors in. Now, AACs are also taking programs out of their centers to where seniors naturally gather. And today, the seniors are doing activities that surprise their children and grandchildren – doing skydiving, doing parkour, eSports, performing Chinese opera.  All these are wonderful activities, so keep up the good work.

Strengthen C(oordination) for Seniors through P(artnership)

30.         Third area, we must coordinate the work across all our partners. We have many valuable partners on the ground, all doing good work with heart and compassion, but our impact is not measured only by our individual effort, but by how well we combine our strengths to deliver the best outcomes for seniors. Hence, three years ago, I spoke of the need to reorganise and better coordinate the way we deliver care in the community, and I remember I mentioned this is found in bitter medicine, with many challenges, because it really shakes the status quo in a significant way.

31.         So again, after some trial and error, last year we launched your favorite abbreviation, the ICCP - Integrated Community Care Provider. Everyone already knows about it. But for those who may not know what ICCP is, basically, we divided Singapore into 84 sub-regions. We identified four baseline services within each region -  AAC, Senior Care Center 9SCC), enhanced Home Personal Care and Home Therapy – these four basic services. And we invited community service partners for each of these basic services to come together in each sub-region to coordinate their efforts, that’s ICCP.

32.         AIC’s 2025 target, that was last year, is to get one-third of our sub-regions. One-third  of the sub-regions, to get them to cooperate and collaborate - that was 2025’s target. If that went well, then another one-third of the sub-regions could be convinced to join in 2026.

33.         Then AIC now realise, as Dr Gerard, he mentioned, he underestimated all of you, underestimated the entire sector, because by the end of last year,  service partners in all 84 sub-regions have agreed to give ICCP a go. We didn't even have to worry about 84 you know, divide by three, everyone hopped on board. Thank you very much.

34.         I think this reflects the fact that there's common mission and purpose. People find that this is a worthwhile cause, and decide to come together and give it a try. And also, I think, reflects tremendous goodwill that exists within the sector.

35.         I recently visited the ICCP partners of the Bukit Merah 3 sub‑region, this is hosted at NTUC Health’s AAC. AIC chose this sub‑region for my visit because they told me this has  one of the largest number of partners – seven! Nevertheless, after meeting all of them I can see the willingness of all parties to do what is best for the seniors living in Bukit Merah sub-region 3.

36.         Last year, ICCPs, I would say, were in a warm-up phase – almost like dating – getting to know each other, visiting one another, and familiarising yourself with each other’s services. The way like dating, you know, go and sit down and talk about your childhood, your life, your hobbies. This year, I think we have gone beyond dating – we have moved into a more formal partnership to coordinate care, beginning an important  phase, which is the honeymoon phase, where we build trust and establish common ways of working. So this is a very fast romance - last year dating, this year already married and honeymoon.

37.         Honeymoons are important because they set the tone for the relationship ahead. During this phase, we adopted the internationally accepted tool, which is interRAI, as the common care assessment for community care from 1 April. But that’s an important step – we are all on the same page in terms of assessment.

38.         Since we all now use the same tool, community care partners within a sub-region will only need to assess a senior once and help the senior access the relevant care services. With the results shared amongst care partners serving the senior, seniors will not need to repeat the test, repeat their challenges multiple times to different providers. This is a quick, important, tangible change for the seniors.

39.         And around October 2026, community care providers will collectively start to develop one community care plan for each senior. This care plan ensures that everyone supporting the senior knows the overall game plan for that individual, what one another is doing, and how we contribute to the senior’s recovery journey.

40.         With that we hope to build a long and productive marriage, staying committed and working through differences that will inevitably emerge over time. I know not all will find this very romantic, but this is our roadmap to achieve the vision of one senior, one assessment, one care plan. We are seeing some early results of this collaboration. Let me give you an example.

41.         This is Mr Mahmod, – a resident in Tampines. He was admitted to hospital and after discharge, Mr Mahmod underwent physiotherapy for deconditioning and recurrent falls in the SCC run by All Saints Home in Tampines. The team at All Saints Home worked very hard with him and he can soon be discharged from the SCC.

42.         In the past, once you get discharged from the SCC, patients like Mr Mahmod and their caregivers would be provided some information and encouraged to continue the exercises they had learnt in the SCC for their rehab sessions. We asked, please practise all this at home. But we all know this is not easy to sustain by an individual, even with a caregiver. So what All Saints Home did differently now was to engage their ICCP partner, Lions Befrienders, to interest Mr Mahmod to come to the AAC near his home. So there is a proper handover now from All Saints Home running the SCC, to Lions Befrienders running the AAC.

43.         Today, in between his rehab sessions at the SCC, Mr Mahmod takes part in AAC programmes such as modified Zumba and aerobics. He plans to stay active by continuing these activities and explore more AAC programmes after his discharge from the SCC. I wish Mr Mahmod a speedy recovery.

44.         This shows what is possible when providers work together across individual services and support seniors in a more holistic way. Every change of setting with the ICCP has to be deliberate and conscious, has to have a proper handshake, the proper handover with the right IT support system. And every intervention has to be meaningful, impactful, and based and anchored in the community.

45.         I do not take for granted the changes you and your staff will be going through, some of which may be uncomfortable initially. There will be adjustments, there will bound to be a lot of give and take. Nevertheless, I think the goodwill will bring us all together in this endeavour to serve seniors better – I thank everyone for this tremendous effort.  And we must make it succeed.

Better H(ealth) for seniors

46.         Fourth area, we will bring healthcare closer to where seniors live. Most of our Community Health Posts, or CHPs, are now located near or within AACs. This was intentional, and in my mind, when I first talked about Age Well SG at AACs – I thought of wanting a CHP in every AAC, but I don’t want to say first because it scares people but other AACs have proliferated and settled down, so I think it is time to push it forward. And it is a very natural next step in the upgrade of AACs.

47.         Seniors already come to AACs to stay active and socially connected. CHPs can therefore reach out to seniors who are already there, AACs have already pulled them, attracted them. And when CHPs do a good job in delivering community health services, it becomes a talking point in the community, seniors will start talking about it. And so, AACs and CHPs are therefore synergistic.

48.         At this initial phase, we should focus the CHPs’ work on population and preventive health. The healthcare clusters are trying out different initiatives – it is also a trial and error where we see what really works, MOH doesn’t have a fixed idea in mind, we have to try out what really works on the ground For example, they are already  delivering health talks, giving general health advice, providing medication management support, and conducting geriatric assessments such as frailty tests.

49.         NHG Health has gone further in Woodlands by providing follow up consultations with medical specialists via videoconferencing – they do not need to go to SOC, come to your AACs or CHPs operating on a particular day of the week, and the specialist is there already starting your conference virtually.  

50.         But we are restricting it for eligible diabetes and asthma patients first and if there’s medication that can be delivered to the patient’s home, at a price no more than you collect at the pharmacy.

51.         SingHealth will provide teleconsultations with SingHealth Polyclinic doctors, pharmacists, and Community Care Teams.

52.         NUHS is working with Healthier SG GPs to improve the management of diabetes patients.

53.         All these efforts will save seniors many trips to the hospital and clinics. And more importantly, deliver care closer to their homes.

Building towards Age Well Neighbourhoods

54.         Let me now address the topic of Age Well Neighbourhoods, or AWNs, which was announced by the Prime Minister at the National Day Rally last year. I’ve gotten this question from a number of community care partners. They say, you got this ICCP, you got CHOPE and AAC, but you also got AWN – so which one should we support, or should we support all? How do we juggle all this? HPs, enhanced HPC etc, which contributes to CHOPE?

55.         My simple answer is this – what’s the difference between AWN and CHOPE? The answer is -  AWN is CHOPE, and CHOPE is AWN. Where we decide to focus resources and implement CHOPE really really well in an area because of a high density of seniors, that area becomes an AWN. So an AWN is a supercharged version of CHOPE.

56.         We have decided that Toa Payoh is our first AWN site. We are increasing the accessibility of AACs there by adding seven AAC touchpoints by early next year. NHG Health has enhanced three CHPs in January this year in Toa Payoh. Enhanced HPC providers, which is one of the baseline services of ICCP, will be offering more timely support for seniors in that area, with care staff based within the AWN, so the response time is better. The ICCP partners have been working together to engage seniors, join up their resources, and link up their service offerings so that seniors have more seamless support. Not forgetting that we have implemented interRAI there, we’ll be rolling out IT systems, you’ll have one care plan. So everything done within the Toa Payoh AWN is a logic.

59.         Having made progress on CHOPE and organised the Toa Payoh AWN, we are now confident to expand it to other areas in Singapore with a high concentration of seniors.

60.         We have identified the next three AWNs. They are Tiong Bahru-Redhill, Bukit Panjang, and Bedok. Like Toa Payoh, they have a high density of seniors living there. Further, we made sure that they are in different regions of Singapore, supported by a different healthcare cluster – so none of the healthcare clusters are left out. That way, our healthcare clusters can quickly build up the experience and capabilities to support AWNs, and work with community care sector, and then once they learn the ropes, they can scale up their work even further. So if you notice, NHG will have one, SingHealth two and NUHS one.

61.         Work has begun to step up for care services in these AWNs. For example, enhanced CHPs began operating in April in Tiong Bahru-Redhill and Bedok, and enhanced CHPs in Bukit Panjang will commence service in September. Efforts are underway to extend the reach of AACs and to base enhanced HPC care staff in the AWNs.

62.         The Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Ministry of Transport (MOT) will also be enhancing senior‑friendly features in seniors’ homes and public spaces at the AWNs.

Community Care Apartments

63.         Now let me just say a few words about Community Care Apartments.

64.         Over the years, various ministries have been working together to expand the options for seniors to age within the community and in their own homes.

65.         MND for example is doing a lot, they are increasing the supply of 2-room Flexi flats. MOH has also worked with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to expand assisted living options, such as the Shared Stay-in Senior Caregiving Service, where several seniors share a home and caregiving staff who support them.

66.         We have also launched several Community Care Apartments, or CCAs, which are purpose-built HDB apartments paired with care services and social activities.

67.         CCAs when they were first launched, they were very popular, with many applications. However, over the years, with more assisted living options and improvements to community care for seniors, the demand has come down and moderated, very significantly. MND and MOH have reviewed this, and will slow down the launch of CCAs.

68.         As there are similarities between the assisted living services available at HDB estates and CCAs, for example AAC, we have also been reviewing our subsidy policy, to ensure that subsidies apply to both settings – both in HDB estates as well as CCAs. It is the fair thing to do. In so doing, eligible CCA residents should see their monthly Basic Service Package payment come down.

69.         MND and MOH will provide more details when ready.

Closing

70.         In closing, two years ago, I introduced CHOPE as a common framework to guide your efforts to strengthen support for seniors. Each year, we can report very good progress – and use CHOPE to constantly chart new ground.

71.         If we implement CHOPE well, our response to a Super‑aged Singapore will be a Super-charged CHOPE strategy. By strengthening Coordination, Health, Outreach, Partnerships, and Engagement, we can make every neighbourhood a place to age well.

72.         MOH and AIC will keep faith with you and journey with you through all these efforts – so that every senior can age with dignity, with purpose and with care. Let’s continue to work together to achieve this. Thank you.