Let’s Talk Public Health

Associate Professor Norbert Wagner is an occupational health physician who has spent most of the last twenty years setting up training programmes in different countries to build capacity in prevention at the workplace. Norbert also works as a specialist and consultant in occupational health for governments and companies. Yesterday was World Day for Safety and Health at Work, and the International Labour Organization’s 100th anniversary. To commemorate this day, we are shining a light on an often overlooked area: the impact of work on health and well-being. Workers in the formalRead more

Celebrated in the last week of April (24–30 April), the World Health Organization (WHO) World Immunization Week aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease, and raise awareness of the importance of full immunisation throughout life. This year’s theme is Protected Together: Vaccines Work. The campaign celebrates Vaccine Heroes from around the world — from parents and community members to health workers and innovators — who help ensure we are all protected, at all ages, through the power of vaccines. Today we speak

World #Malaria Day is commemorated every 25 April and recognises global efforts to control malaria. Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite that is transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes and often leads to a flu-like illness with fever. If left untreated, it may develop severe life-threatening complications. In 2017, there were 219 million malaria cases and 435,000 malaria deaths worldwide. About 90 per cent of malaria cases are in the World Health Organization (WHO) African region, followed by WHO Southeast Asian region with five per cent of the cases, and WHO Eastern Mediterranean region

#WorldHealthDay falls on 7 April and its main theme is Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the number one goal for the World Health Organization (WHO). Today we talk to Adjunct Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, who has an in-depth knowledge of the Singapore healthcare model and gives us his reflections.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious bacterial infection which is spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. TB mainly affects the lungs, and is treated with antibiotics. Each year, World Tuberculosis Day falls on 24 March, the date in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. Technology has dramatically moved forward since the early identification of the bacterium by Dr Koch over 130 years ago. Assistant Professor Rick Ong‘s research group is working on a project

8 March marks #InternationalWomensDay, and we couldn’t think of anyone more fitting than Associate Professor Wong Mee Lian to feature in the very first conversation of our series “Let’s Talk Public Health”. She has spent much of her career researching marginalised and vulnerable women in our society, and has been teaching health education and promotion to postgraduate and undergraduate students for the past 25 years.