HealthySG Taskforce charts healthier path for all

The HealthySG Taskforce, chaired by Mr Amrin Amin, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health, Singapore, has made 11 recommendations to transform Singapore’s health promotion landcape, with the infusion and integration of health in various aspects of people's lives and the environment.

Since November 2018, the HealthySG Taskforce has engaged close to 300 Singaporeans aged 18 to 60 years through focus group discussions, public engagement sessions and an online consultation.  

Following the engagement efforts, the Taskforce has made recommendations centered around three thrusts:

a. Empowerment of individuals; 
b. Engagement of our community; and  
c. Modifying our Environment. 

Collectively, the recommendations aim to promote the health of Singaporeans of all ages and backgrounds, building upon the health promotion work carried out by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) over the years. 

The Taskforce recognises that there are barriers that can prevent Singaporeans from taking greater personal responsibility for their health. The Taskforce recommends to address these barriers and encourage individuals to take charge of their own health by increasing the affordability of effective interventions, improving accessibility to services and leveraging technology.  The recommendations include:

a.    Subsidies for vaccines recommended under the National Adult Immunisation Schedule (NAIS) for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents.

b.    Piloting new smoking cessation support models in public healthcare institutions (PHIs) and providing subsidies for these interventions to help more smokers embark on their quit journeys and to successfully quit. 

c.    Providing technology-enabled, personalised coaching solutions for health promotion in collaboration with industry partners. This includes the use of smart wearable devices to capture biometric data and personalised nudges to better motivate users in achieving their health goals.   

d.    A Lifelong Virtual Health Booklet for individuals to track their personal health status. This extends the benefits of the child health booklet into adulthood by creating a comprehensive and reliable personal health repository. Users will see a personalised dashboard with one’s own health status, relevant content based on individual health needs, and targeted reminders for medical appointments, which will allow users to monitor and understand their health status and data, and support Singaporeans in managing their own health. It will also help individuals avoid missing appointments for screenings, adult immunisations and other medical follow-ups.