News

ASEAN health systems have been hit hard by COVID-19 – especially countries with already-constrained resource bases. Even before the pandemic, Lao PDR and Myanmar spent less than USD 100 per person a year on healthcare; Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia spent less than 200. Southeast Asia also has high out-of-pocket (OOP) spending in health, with 8 out of 10 countries having an OOP ratio of over 30% of total health spending. In order to maximize health system efficiency and ensure that populations are adequately covered, governments must make theRead more

On 7 February 2023, the School launched the NUS Public Health – Lao PDR Programme, in partnership with Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute (TPHI), with the event taking place in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The event was attended by representatives from Ministry of Health of Lao PDR, Singapore Embassy in Lao PDR, as well as key development and international partners. Dr Latsamy Siengsounthone, Director General of Lao TPHI, welcomed the Guest of Honour, Dr Souphaphone Sadettan, Deputy Director General of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Health of Lao PDR,Read more

YB Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Md Isham Bin Hj Jaafar, Minister of Health of Brunei Darussalam, visited the School on 8 Feb 2023 as part of follow-up discussions after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). He was accompanied by his wife, Datin Dr Hajah Norsurainah @ Noraslinah binti Haji Ramlee, and officers from the Brunei High Commission. Dato Isham was warmly received by Prof Teo Yik Ying, Dean of NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. During the meeting, Prof Teo shed light on the historyRead more

The School’s Chinese New Year celebration is back physically after three years, ringing in the year of the Rabbit with vitality and good health. The bustling affair took place on 3 Feb 2023 and saw the members of School gathered together for a morning of celebrative activities filled with fun and laughter. The celebrations kicked off to a rousing start with a cheery opening address and award presentation by Dean, Prof Teo Yik Ying. Congratulations to the following Long Service Award 2023 awardees: For 5 years of service: A/P LiowRead more

Did you know that an average smoker loses about 14 years of life as compared to a non-smoker? One cigarette contains more than 7,000 chemicals, of which 1% are known carcinogens. Join us for the Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue: Overcoming Challenges with Smoking Cessation on 13 March 2023 (Mon), from 3.30pm to 4.30pm, at Shaw Foundation Alumni House, Auditorium, Level 2, NUS, 11 Kent Ridge Drive, Singapore 119244. The dialogue will feature smoking cessation expert, Dr Peter Selby, Senior Medical Consultant at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).Read more

This year, the annual Graduate Student Conference (GSC) AY2022/23 returned in physical form! Every year, the student representative organizes the GSC to provide a welcoming environment and an excellent opportunity for graduate students to socialize within the academic community. Furthermore, it provides a useful platform for facilitating education faculty, post-docs, colleagues, and graduate students to build professional relationships. We are pleased to see many current MSc and PhD students, in addition to our SSHSPH alumni, at the student bonding activity on 14 Jan 2023 and the main conference from 16Read more

Our warmest congratulations to members of the School who were honoured with their National Awards (COVID-19) by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The awards were given to individuals and teams who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and made outstanding contributions to the national fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. We are proud to announce that the eight faculty members have been conferred the awards under the following categories: The Public Administration Medal (COVID-19) Associate Professor Alexander Richard Cook – The Public Administration Medal (Silver) (COVID-19) Associate ProfessorRead more

On October 20th, 2022, the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation (LIGHT) at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health organised a webinar on mass vaccination campaigns in Southeast Asia. Dr Jemilah Mahmood and Dr Kenneth Hartigan-Go shared about their experiences coordination COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Malaysia and the Philippines. They considered issues such as gaining popular trust, selecting suitable vaccines and logistics for future pandemics. The webinar was part of the ALPHA Fellowship supported by the Temasek Foundation, bringing together 20 Fellows from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia andRead more

Dr Mary Chong and Dr Sim Xueling have been promoted to Associate Professor, and Dr Cecilia Teng has been promoted to Senior Lecturer with effect from 1 January 2023! Mary’s research focuses on three inter-connected themes around early life nutrition and health – Maternal and Offspring Nutrition and Health, Preconception Nutrition and Health, and Children’s Health. This includes exploring relationships between macronutrients, maternal micronutrient status in the maternal diet and child neurocognition, maternal dietary patterns, metabolic health in mothers and offspring. Mary has made significant contributions to establish a strongRead more

Our warmest congratulations to our current Master Of Public Health student, Celine Tan, for her publication in the Lancet Regional Health Western Pacific. The significance of her team’s findings in the research paper titled, “Comparative effectiveness of 3 or 4 doses of mRNA and inactivated whole-virus vaccines against COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and severe outcomes among elderly in Singapore”, featured in The Straits Times. Celine’s team found that vaccination with four doses of mRNA vaccine was associated with lower rates of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization, and severe COVID-19 compared with threeRead more

The annual Singapore Healthcare and Artificial Intelligence Expo and Datathon (SHADE’22) concluded its fifth run at the National University of Singapore Cultural Centre. Assistant Professor Feng Mengling served as the co-chairperson of this event. SHADE’22 brought together the world’s top clinicians, data scientists, and innovators with the aim of leading positive healthcare changes by building an ecosystem to contribute to the advancement of AI technology in healthcare. The event promoted healthcare research and collaboration among doctors, data scientists, AI researchers, students, and like-minded individuals from various industries, institutes, and countries.Read more

Fellows from ASEAN convened in Singapore for the final session of the ALPHA Fellowship Programme 2022 from 30 Nov to 2 Dec 2022. This programme was funded by Temasek Foundation and led by Assoc Prof Jeremy Lim and the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation (LIGHT) team, and comprised of monthly online sessions, as well as two in-person sessions in Singapore. The Fellowship programme aims to nurture a cohort of early-career professionals in public health with a shared vision for health in ASEAN, leading to an innovative outlook on globalRead more