Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health

Public health as a discipline is constantly evolving, not only in the face of emerging and re-emerging challenges from infectious diseases and chronic disorders, but also as a result of modern complexities arising from socio-economic shifts and cross-border political situations.

What has remained constant however is the need for public health to remain cross-disciplinary, where excellence and professionalism are benchmarked by the ability to approach a problem from multiple perspectives, taking into consideration epidemiological evidence, economic consequence, sociological acceptance and policy implication.

Training the next generation of leaders in public health thus requires imparting an important lesson in humility – the ability to acknowledge one’s limitations and to accept the necessity to forge successful partnerships with experts from various disciplines, such as data science, engineering and the social sciences, in order to comprehensively tackle a public health challenge.

COVID-19 has changed the world in many ways and threw a spotlight on the importance of robust public health policies and programmes. Many Southeast Asian countries continue to be plagued by perennial problems of dengue, HIV, malaria and tuberculosis amidst a background of rising antimicrobial resistance. The burden of diabetes and other chronic diseases in Asia has also been rising as a result of shifting economic priorities and ageing demography. While dissimilar in nature of morbidity and mortality, tackling these conditions require the same nimbleness, resilience and integrity to do what is necessary, by individuals, communities and governments.

The School is committed to focus on research that improves the health of populations in Singapore and beyond. In the next leg of this journey, the School will extend its reach to more partners in Asia to jointly tackle present and new public health challenges. I invite you to join us on our mission towards turning discovery into healthier communities.