New R&D programme to deal with future public health crises unveiled; Dorscon framework to be beefed up

SINGAPORE is developing a national programme to boost its research and development (R&D) capabilities in anticipation of future public health crises, Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary said on Friday.

Called the Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness And Response (Prepare), it is meant to strengthen Singapore's ability to "prevent, prepare and respond" to such crises.

He told Parliament during the debate on the spending plans of the Ministry of Health (MOH): "It will include strengthening infectious disease collaboration networks locally and regionally, strengthening capabilities for the accelerated development of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines and establishing a national infectious disease repository and database for research and data analysis."

The ministry is also looking into strengthening the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (Dorscon) framework, a colour-coded framework that shows the current disease situation. Singapore remains in Dorscon Orange for now.

This will incorporate lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic to better communicate public health risks and to help Singapore respond more effectively "as a whole society" when "Disease X" strikes, Dr Janil said.

This ensures that Singapore continues to be ready to respond to future public health crises, he said.

Other ways include enhancing Singapore's surveillance and response capabilities by leveraging new technologies, while augmenting its human capabilities.