More synergy on the cards for initiatives like Healthier SG, Age Well SG: Ong Ye Kung
More synergy on the cards for initiatives like Healthier SG, Age Well SG: Ong Ye Kung
SINGAPORE – In his second term as Health Minister, Mr Ong Ye Kung wants to create greater synergy among national initiatives like Healthier SG and Age Well SG.
Healthier SG is a preventive health programme under the Health Ministry (MOH), while Age Well SG, which helps seniors age well in their communities, is led by MOH, the Transport Ministry and the Ministry of National Development.
'Last few years, what we did (was) we rolled out major strategies: Healthier SG, Age Well SG,' Mr Ong said on June 1. 'This term, with me still at MOH, what we really need is to do is to join forces.'
Speaking to reporters at a community event organised by the North West District at the Turf Club, he gave one example of how Age Well SG, under which community health posts have been set up at active ageing centres, complement Healthier SG.
'Someone with chronic illness, someone unsure of their health status, can always approach the community health posts,' he said, adding that these health posts are touchpoints which help residents stick to personalised health plans drawn up under Healthier SG, he said.
'The community health posts not just need to proliferate, you need to intensify the kind of services you can deliver,' Mr Ong added.
Around nine out of 10 active ageing centres have such health posts, or have one nearby . They are staffed by nurses, and have been set up by the three healthcare clusters in Singapore to attend to patients .
When asked if any groups may need more encouragement to get on board with health initiatives, Mr Ong said such needs are unique to individuals. He gave the example of how residents in their 40s and 50s who sought treatment for other ailments at the Woodlands Health Campus were found to have undiagnosed advanced chronic illnesses.
'Through Healthier SG, (we can) discover, detect people with underlying chronic illnesses and then encourage them to develop their health plan and do something about it.' said Mr Ong.
Healthier SG has garnered more than a million sign-ups since its launch in July 2023.
'Don't just sign up. Must turn up, and follow up,' Mr Ong told more than 2,000 participants who had signed up for a brisk walking event at the Turf Club, urging them to stick to their health plans.
The brisk walk was part of a three-day community sports event called Healthy Living Festival @ North West, that ends on June 1 evening. It also marked the completion of a month-long SG60 Healthier Together Movement by the North West District.
The aim was for residents to clock 60,000km through activities such as walking, running, swimming and cycling. Local company Lih Ming Construction pledged $60,000 to support the cause, with the funds used to support needy families.
As at June 1, residents had cumulatively clocked 88,502km, exceeding the target.
Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung (in red) and North West District Mayor Alex Yam flagging off a walk at the Healthy Living Festival @ North West held at the Turf Club on June 1.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
The North West District consists of Bukit Panjang SMC and four GRCs – Holland-Bukit Timah, Marsling-Yew Tee, Nee Soon and Sembawang.
District Mayor Alex Yam said seniors currently make up around 70 per cent of participants at its community activities, and he wants to attract more younger residents.
One regular participant is Mr Terence Teo, 43. Since 2022, he has joined around 30 others at the North West Brisk Walking Club for a 2km neighbourhood walk on Sunday mornings.
The IT operations executive said the club has grown from around 20 people when he first joined, to nearly 40 persons today. Most participants are between 50 and 60 years old, with his seven-year-old daughter the youngest member.
Mr Teo said he enjoys chatting with other members, adding that the walks are as much about healthy living as they are about getting to know the neighbours.
'These days, a lot of neighbours don't even know each other, until the last day, when they are moving out,' he said.
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
A common assumption about ageing may be wrong, study suggests
A new analysis of data gathered from a small indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon suggests some of our basic assumptions about the biological process of ageing might be wrong. Inflammation is a natural immune response that protects the body from injury or infection. Scientists have long believed that long-term, low-grade inflammation – also known as 'inflammageing' – is a universal hallmark of getting older. But this new data raises the question of whether inflammation is directly linked to ageing at all, or if it's linked to a person's lifestyle or environment instead. The study, which was published recently, found that people in two non-industrialised areas experienced a different kind of inflammation throughout their lives than more urban people – likely tied to infections from bacteria, viruses and parasites rather than the precursors of chronic disease. Their inflammation also didn't appear to increase with age. Scientists compared inflammation signals in existing data sets from four distinct populations in Italy, Singapore, Bolivia and Malaysia; because they didn't collect the blood samples directly, they couldn't make exact apples-to-apples comparisons. But if validated in larger studies, the findings could suggest that diet, lifestyle and environment influence inflammation more than ageing itself, said Alan Cohen, an author of the paper and an associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University. 'Inflammageing may not be a direct product of aging, but rather a response to industrialised conditions,' he said, adding that this was a warning to experts like him that they might be overestimating its pervasiveness globally. 'How we understand inflammation and ageing health is based almost entirely on research in high-income countries like the US,' said Thomas McDade, a biological anthropologist at Northwestern University. But a broader look shows that there's much more global variation in ageing than scientists previously thought, he added. The study 'sparks valuable discussion' but needs much more follow-up 'before we rewrite the inflammageing narrative,' said Bimal Desai, a professor of pharmacology who studies inflammation at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. INFLAMMATION IS DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT PLACES In the study, researchers compared blood samples from about 2,800 adults between 18 and 95. People in the more industrialised Chianti region of Italy and in Singapore both showed the types of proteins that signal inflammageing. The Tsimane group in Bolivia and the Orang Asli group in Malaysia, on the other hand, had different inflammatory markers likely tied to infections, instead of the proteins marking inflammageing. (The four datasets used blood samples with subjects' informed consent, whether written or verbal, and institutional approval.) The fact that inflammation markers looked so similar in groups from industrialised regions, but so different from the others, is striking, said Aurelia Santoro, an associate professor at the University of Bologna who was not involved in the study. 'This suggests that immune cells are activated in fundamentally different ways depending on context.' The Tsimane population's protein markers were less linked to inflammageing than the Orang Asli's; authors speculated that this might be because of differences in lifestyle and diet. Some experts questioned the findings' significance. Vishwa Deep Dixit, director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging, said it's not surprising that lifestyles with less exposure to pollution are linked to lower rates of chronic disease. 'This becomes a circular argument' that doesn't prove or disprove whether inflammation causes chronic disease, he said. Either way, the findings need to be validated in larger, more diverse studies that follow people over time, experts said. While they had lower rates of chronic disease, the two Indigenous populations tended to have life spans shorter than those of people in industrialised regions, meaning they may simply not have lived long enough to develop inflammageing, Dr Santoro said. THE PROBLEM MAY BE TIED TO URBAN LIVING Because the study looked at protein markers in blood samples, and not specific lifestyle or diet differences among populations, scientists had to make educated guesses about why industrialised groups experience more inflammageing, Dr Cohen said. Dr McDade, who has previously studied inflammation in the Tsimane group, speculated that populations in non-industrialised regions might be exposed to certain microbes in water, food, soil and domestic animals earlier in their lives, bolstering their immune response later in life. At the same time, people in urbanised, industrial environments are 'exposed to a lot of pollutants and toxins,' many of which have ' demonstrated pro-inflammatory effects,' he said. Diet and lifestyle could also play a part: The Tsimane tend to live in small settlements with their extended family and eat a largely plant-based diet, he said. There might also be good and bad types of inflammation, Dr Cohen said. While the indigenous populations did experience inflammation from infection, those levels weren't tied to chronic disease later in life. That could mean that the presence of inflammation alone isn't as bad as we thought, he added. It's not clear if people can do anything to manage inflammageing late in life. People who want to age more healthily may be better off eating better and exercising more to regulate immune response in the long run, instead of focusing on drugs or supplements advertised to target inflammation, Dr Cohen said.
AsiaOne
3 days ago
- AsiaOne
Vape disposal bins available at 24 locations; users who surrender devices will not face penalty, Singapore News
The Ministry of Health, Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and People's Association have launched a campaign encouraging vape users to kick the habit and safely dispose their devices in designated bins set up at 24 locations island-wide. Those who surrender their devices by binning them, or voluntarily seek support for quitting, will not face any penalties for doing so, said the authorities. Starting July 25, disposal bins have been placed at 23 Community Clubs and one Residents' Network Centre for members of the public to voluntarily dispose of vapes. This comes amid fresh public concern over vapes laced with etomidate, an anaesthetic agent that can cause seizures and psychosis. Etomidate will be listed as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act in the next few weeks, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on July 20. [[nid:720403]] Ahead of this, HSA is encouraging users of e-vaporiser to give up their devices and related components and quit vaping through the new initiative called Bin the Vape. Bins will also be progressively placed at other locations such as the institutes of higher learning, added the health authorities. Members of the public can visit HSA's website to find their nearest bin. Vape users who want to quit and are looking for support services can approach WE CARE Community Services, Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association, the Institute of Mental Health or the Quitline counsellors at 1800 438 2000 for help. Persons caught using etomidate-laced vapes once the substance is listed as a Class C drug will face mandatory supervision and rehabilitation and repeat offenders can be prosecuted and subject to at least a year's jail. Those caught selling, distributing or importing etomidate-laced e-vaporisers will be subject to more severe penalties, including jail of up to 20 years and caning. [[nid:720617]]
CNA
3 days ago
- CNA
Bins available for vape disposal at 24 locations across Singapore
SINGAPORE: Vape users are encouraged to dispose of their e-vaporisers at bins that will be placed across 24 locations in Singapore from Friday (Jul 25). The initiative is meant to help vape users quit the habit before the law catches up with them, said the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Health Sciences Authority and the People's Association (PA) in a joint release. Called "Bin the Vape", the campaign will involve e-vaporiser disposal bins being placed at 23 community clubs and one Residents' Network Centre for the public to voluntarily dispose of their devices safely. Bins will also be progressively placed at other locations, including institutes of higher learning. Those who wish to seek support for quitting, especially if they have been using etomidate e-vaporisers, may approach WE CARE Community Services, Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association, the Institute of Mental Health for assistance, or call Quitline counsellors at 1800 438 2000. "Persons who come forward to bin their e-vaporisers or voluntarily seek support for quitting will not face any penalties for doing so," said the authorities. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung previously announced that in the next few weeks, etomidate - a drug that has been found in vapes - will be classified as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Once this kicks into force, those caught using etomidate-laced e-vaporisers will be subject to mandatory supervision and rehabilitation. Repeat offenders may be prosecuted and jailed for at least a year.
