SPEECH BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AT 16TH ASEAN HEALTH MINISTERS’ MEETING, 8 AUGUST 2024

Strengthening post pandemic health system capacity to enhance regional resilience

Honourable chair

Excellencies. 

1. I apologise, I have to leave early for Singapore’s National Day. 

2. In line with the vision of ASEAN Community, it is timely to give healthcare integration a further push. Healthcare expenditure as a proportion of government spending is rising in many ASEAN countries. I believe it is because healthcare is close to the hearts of our people, and we are all pursuing significant health imperatives nationally.

3. As a region, we are fortunate to have the support of many partner countries such as the US, China, the European Union, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia and India. We will need to channel and focus resources on key aspects of ASEAN healthcare integration. There needs to be alignment between external support and our priorities. May I suggest the following priority areas:

4. First, and the most important, is to build up capacity in ASEAN member states, in terms of delivering good healthcare, especially primary care, tackling malnutrition, stunting, and lack of immunisation coverage. This also means building new healthcare facilities, equipping them, training healthcare professionals, and also understanding the challenges of each member state and possible policy responses. 

5. In this regard, the National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health has started a collaboration with the Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute, and Lao University of Health Services, to conduct relevant public health research and training, generating evidence to better inform public health policies in Laos. 

6. Second, we can do more to facilitate the development, approval, and access to new drugs and medical devices.

7. ASEAN, with its diverse and sizeable population, is an important region to conduct clinical trials.  

8. Clinical trials are often conducted via networks of scientists and clinicians in different countries. We need to link up and coordinate the networks, to better integrate ASEAN as a region for clinical trials. 

9. The Singapore Clinical Research Institute and Duke-NUS Centre of Regulatory Excellence in Singapore can support this. Japan is supporting the set-up of a clinical trial centre in Thailand, and Malaysia is working on a framework of clinical trial coordinators to support investigators. We also have the Health Sciences Authority in Singapore, which is a benchmark regulatory agency and a World Health Organization Listed Authority. Our work done in reviewing therapeutics and granting approvals can be used as a reference for other jurisdictions in ASEAN, facilitating quicker entry of these treatments and devices into the region. 

10. Third, we need to work towards greater pandemic preparedness. The next pandemic is a matter of when, and not if.  

11. During our Retreat, we discussed two key aspects of pandemic preparedness. They are important because progress cannot be achieved by any single country, and we need to work together as a region. 

12. One, is pandemic surveillance. We need to build up a network of surveillance in the region so as to give us early warning when a pandemic is about to break out.

13. Two, is vaccine and therapeutics production capacity. We should work with relevant international agencies, such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the Regionalised Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative formed under the World Economic Forum, to work on a regional vaccine production plan. 

14. Finally, on Antimicrobial Resistance, which has become a significant and looming threat to human health. Many countries are already encountering higher incidence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) infections. 

15. There needs to be stronger regulations and enforcement against inappropriate dispensation of antibiotics.

16. Our partners should know that these are our priorities, and we should try to achieve strong alignment between pledging of support, deployment of resources, and implementation of programmes, to achieve a more integrated ASEAN in healthcare.

17. Thank you.