On 6-10 March 2023, the School’s Global Health Office conducted a Workshop on Risks to Health Security, under the auspices of the Singapore-United States Third Country Training Programme. The workshop addressed five of the key environmental drivers of health insecurity, namely (a) land use change, (b) urbanisation and globalisation, (c) wildlife trade, trafficking, and markets, (d) climate change, and (e) degraded ecosystem services. These drivers are among those that are key to national, regional, and global health security, pandemic preparedness, and environmental sustainability.
Selected participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand attended the workshop. The workshop consisted of in-person as well as remote lectures by experienced trainers, academics and policy makers from Singapore and the USA. These included Dr Kimberly Fornace and AssociateProf Yann Boucher from NUS Public Health Associate Prof Yu Liya, Associate Prof Bae Sung Woo, Ms Audrey Tan from other departments in NUS US Science Envoy Dr Christine Kreuder Johnson, and Dr Barbara Knust from US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Participants were also able to visit the (a) National Environment Agency Environmental Health Institute’s Mosquito Production Facility, (b) Public Utilities Board NEWater Visitor Centre, (c) National Parks Board Animal and Plant Health Centre, including the Centre for Wildlife Forensics and (d) Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES).
Participants also had the opportunity to share about their countries and participate in discussion and networking sessions during the programme.