SingHealth Receives International Awards for Healthy Ageing and Population Health Initiatives

• In recognition of its contributions to healthy ageing, SingHealth has been conferred the His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for the Promotion of Healthy Ageing by the World Health Organization.
• This reflects SingHealth’s growing international standing in population health. In March 2026, SingHealth was also awarded the Best Cross-Organisation Collaboration Award at the International Forum on Quality & Safety in Healthcare for its work in transforming community-based care in Singapore.

SINGAPORE, May 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The World Health Organization (WHO) has conferred SingHealth the His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for the Promotion of Healthy Ageing, an international accolade established by the State of Kuwait Health Promotion Foundation. This award honours outstanding contributions to research, health promotion, policy and programmes on healthy ageing, and was presented to SingHealth at the WHO Assembly on 20 May 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Helping Seniors Age Well with Dignity and Independence

The award recognises SingHealth’s integrated person-centred approach to addressing the needs of an ageing population across key areas such as health, urban planning and social wellness. By focusing on helping seniors to live healthier and more engaged lives as longevity increases, SingHealth translates evidence into scalable, personalised and holistic care models that are embedded within the community. The goal is to enable them to age safely, independently and with dignity at home. As the Regional Health Manager of eastern Singapore, SingHealth also plays a key leadership role in convening community partners, government agencies and social service agencies to synergise their strengths, ensuring care initiatives are integrated and accessible.

Transforming Eastern Singapore into an Age-Friendly Hub

A key initiative in promoting healthy ageing is Healthier EAST@SG, a multi-agency network led by SingHealth for eastern Singapore. In September 2025, the Healthier EAST@SG initiative was inducted into the WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities (GNAFCC), placing eastern Singapore at the forefront of a global healthy ageing movement alongside 1,700 cities worldwide. Through its leadership of Healthier EAST@SG, SingHealth is transforming the eastern region of Singapore into an inclusive and age-friendly community. Refer to Annex A for more information on Healthier EAST@SG.

Professor Lee Chien Earn, Deputy Group CEO (Regional Health System), SingHealth, said, “Healthy ageing is not merely about adding years to life, but about enabling seniors to live those years fully and well. Our efforts focus on giving seniors the chance to enjoy their silver years in the comfort of their homes and communities through holistic community-based care initiatives while strengthening preventive care through screening and empowering them with resources to take charge of their health. We are honoured to be conferred the His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for the Promotion of Healthy Ageing by WHO. This affirms the good work done in collaboration with our community partners in striving towards a shared vision of helping our seniors to continue to thrive as they age healthily with dignity and purpose. We are excited to continue innovating and implementing holistic initiatives to help not just our current seniors age well but enable healthy longevity for our residents across their life-course in their respective communities.”

Growing Recognition on the Global Stage

This latest achievement reflects SingHealth’s growing international standing in population health. In March 2026, SingHealth was awarded the Best Cross-Organisation Collaboration Award at the International Forum on Quality & Safety in Healthcare in Oslo, Norway, for its transformative work in community-based care in Singapore.

The award recognises SingHealth’s commitment to form cross-sectoral partnerships and build scalable, future-ready models of community care that are holistic and accessible. From the Neighbours for Active Living programme which was launched in 2013 by Changi General Hospital (CGH) and South East Community Development Council (CDC) to ensure that patients with complex health and social care needs receive continued care in the community after their discharge from hospital, to the formation of integrated multidisciplinary Healthier Singapore (HSG) teams, comprising primary care providers, community nurses and Wellbeing Coordinators (WBCs), these care teams address the rising complexity of health conditions faced by the community. They deliver personalised care, tailored to the needs of individuals, across more than 30 defined communities of care to bring about significant preventive health improvements within the community. Refer to Annex B for details on the transformation and impact.

Driving Population Health Efforts in the Heartlands

As part of efforts to scale up population health initiatives in the heartlands, the SingHealth Community Forum was held today at Heartbeat@Bedok. This annual event enables SingHealth and its community partners in the health and social service sectors to deepen partnerships. This year, a key highlight of these collaborations was a showcase on harnessing technology to co-create innovative solutions that promote and amplify integrated care for Singapore’s ageing population. Refer to Annex C for highlights of such solutions.

Clinical Associate Professor How Choon How, Director, East, SingHealth Office of Regional Health and Chairman, Division of Continuity Care, CGH, who is the adviser to this year’s Forum, said, “We are very heartened to collaborate with community partners who share our passion and commitment to keep Singaporeans healthy and well within their communities. The annual SingHealth Community Forum has been instrumental in strengthening and deepening our collaborations, forging new partnerships and synergising our collective strengths to sharpen our delivery of community-based care and expand its accessibility. By sharing best practices, the Forum also serves as a catalyst for innovation, enabling us to harness technology and leverage evidence-based strategies to create holistic care solutions that support our seniors in living and ageing well in the community.”

About SingHealth

SingHealth, Singapore’s largest public healthcare cluster, is committed to providing affordable, accessible and quality healthcare to patients. With a network of acute hospitals, national specialty centres, polyclinics and community hospitals offering over 40 clinical specialties, it delivers comprehensive, multidisciplinary and integrated care. Beyond hospital walls, SingHealth partners community care providers to enable the population to keep well, get well and live well. As part of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, SingHealth also focuses on advancing education and research to continuously improve care outcomes for patients. For more information, please visit: www.singhealth.com.sg

Members of the SingHealth Group 
Hospitals (Tertiary Specialty Care): Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital, Sengkang General Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and Eastern General Hospital (expected completion around 2029 to 2030)

National Specialty Centres (Tertiary Specialty Care): National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Dental Centre Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore, National Neuroscience Institute, and Singapore National Eye Centre

SingHealth Polyclinics (Primary Care): Bedok, Bukit Merah, Eunos, Marine Parade, Outram, Pasir Ris, Punggol, Sengkang, Tampines, Tampines North and Kaki Bukit (upcoming)

SingHealth Community Hospitals (Intermediate and Continuing Care): Sengkang Community Hospital, Outram Community Hospital, and Eastern Community Hospital (expected completion around 2029 to 2030)

About SingHealth Regional Health System (RHS)

SingHealth RHS recognises that our population can be empowered to keep well, get well and live well in their communities and homes. To achieve this, we collaborate with like-minded agencies across the health and social care sectors to identify population health needs, promote behaviour changes and develop sustainable programmes to improve quality of life. As an academic RHS, we also leverage population health research to understand healthcare utilisation patterns and to facilitate appropriate interventions across the care continuum. 

For more information, please visit www.singhealth.com.sg/rhs.

ANNEX A

Information on Healthier EAST@SG

Healthier East@SG is a comprehensive multi-agency initiative led by SingHealth to transform Singapore’s eastern region into an inclusive, age-friendly community. Working alongside healthcare providers, community partners and social service agencies, the programme currently serves 610,000 residents across Bedok, Changi, Marine Parade and Tampines, where nearly 28 per cent of the population is aged 60 and above.

With its induction into the WHO GNAFCC, eastern Singapore now joins more than 1,700 cities and communities across 60 countries, representing over 330 million people worldwide. The Network enables the creation of age-inclusive environments through eight essential domains: housing, transportation, outdoor spaces, community support, health services, social participation, respect and social inclusion, and communication and information. As part of WHO’s GNAFCC, eastern Singapore is committed to proactively identify barriers to healthy ageing and implement targeted solutions across these domains, to ensure seniors remain active and valued contributors in their community.

The Healthier EAST@SG initiative’s objectives are aligned with WHO initiatives, such as the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) approach, and its work spans community-centred health resources such as community health posts, technology-enabled services including personal care telephone services and mobile applications, and partnerships with community-based social service agencies and grassroots organisations. Examples as follows:

1. Care Beyond Hospital Walls: Community Health Posts
 

SingHealth introduced Community Health Posts as part of its commitment to extend care beyond hospital settings to the community. Anchored by integrated community care teams known as HSG Teams, these posts are staffed by Community Nurses and WBCs and supported by primary care providers and community partners. Serving as visible, walk-in hubs within neighbourhoods, Community Health Posts focus on preventive care while providing seamless linkages to general practitioners and essential social resources. Through home visits and community-based engagement, SingHealth’s Community Nurses deliver personalised, holistic support, strengthening the continuity of care and enhancing residents’ health and wellbeing within the community. As of May 2026, SingHealth has more than 140 Community Health Posts, serving communities in neighbourhoods such as Bukit Merah, Bedok and Sengkang.
 

2. Community Wellbeing through Green Spaces: Pelatok Art Farm
 

The Pelatok Art Farm is a joint project between CGH and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), in partnership with Changi Simei Grassroots Organisations and SAA Architects. It serves as a vibrant hub where residents come together to connect with one another and with nature. Through shared gardening, creative expression, and collaborative activities, the farm helps nurture stronger social ties, active lifestyles, and a deep sense of community belonging, improving the physical, mental and social well-being of residents through urban environmental design. This is one of many initiatives supported by our WHO Collaborating Centre for Social Prescribing. 

3. Empowering Residents to Take Charge of their Health: HealthUP!
 

HealthUP! is SingHealth’s signature preventive health programme conveniently accessible via a mobile device. Under HealthUP!, residents are empowered to reach their preventive health goals through a wide range of activities offered by SingHealth and its community partners across domains such as physical activity, healthy eating, health screening, immunisations and smoking cessation. Supported by SingHealth’s WBCs, HealthUP! enables individuals to take charge of their health with long-term telehealth and digital support, as well as personalised recommendations for types of physical activity, tips on healthy eating and reminders for health screenings and immunisations. Additionally, in tandem with the national Healthier SG campaign, it facilitates the continued conversation between residents and their primary care providers to achieve shared health goals.

ANNEX B

Transformation and Impact: The Evolution of SingHealth’s Community-Based Care

A Community-First Beginning

“Neighbours for Active Living” was established by CGH and Southeast CDC in 2013 with a simple idea: neighbours are often the closest support when family is not nearby. The programme placed care staff trained in healthcare and social work right in the heart of neighbourhoods working in partnership with community partners to integrate health and social care. They visited homes, connected seniors to services, and trained volunteers to support those in need. Collaborators came from diverse backgrounds including grassroots organisations, religious groups, schools, public agencies and private companies.

In 2020, the WBCs role, made up of lay extenders^[1] specially trained to support our residents, was formalised and integrated into the Neighbours for Active Living programme. WBCs became trusted connectors between residents and the healthcare system, bridging residents to preventive health services, chronic disease management resources and social support.

Between 2021 and 2023, WBCs supported nearly 2,794 clients (90% seniors aged 60+). The results were compelling:

• Mean Emergency Department visits per client fell by nearly half (from 1.59 to 0.82)
• Mean Inpatient admissions dropped by more than 50% (from 1.36 to 0.58)
• Mean length of hospital stays reduced by over 50% (from 10.5 to 4.9 days)

These figures show a significant reduction in the need for acute hospital care among the WBC clients, allowing more seniors to keep well in the community and freeing up vital inpatient bed capacity for patients requiring acute or emergency care

Community Nursing in the Heartlands

At the same time, SingHealth expanded its reach by placing community nurses within neighbourhoods from 2018 to support residents with complex care needs.

In a cohort of 1,616 residents who were first served by Community Nurses in between April 2020 and March 2021, there was a noticeable improvement in the following clinical indicators:

• 46% decrease in odds of having poor medication adherence at 6 months
• 67% decrease in odds of having unacceptable blood pressure (≥140/90 in mmHg) at 6 months among residents with hypertension at baseline
• 1.13 mmol/l decrease in capillary blood glucose levels at 6 months among residents with diabetes at baseline

These figures suggest that care interventions by Community Nurses can significantly improve a senior’s abilities to manage their chronic conditions at home, decreasing the probability of hospital readmission.

SingHealth Healthier SG Teams: Advancing Integrated, Place-Based Care

Based on these successes, SingHealth decided to leverage the strengths of Community Nurses and WBCs to deliver holistic, personalised care by forming integrated community care teams known as Healthier SG teams.

Healthier SG Teams comprise a core team of primary care providers, Community Nurses, WBCs and community partners that provide health and social care across a residents’ life course. SingHealth now has more than 30 teams providing community-based care, embedded within geographically defined zones with deep understanding of the needs and aspirations of their respective communities. The teams focused on preventive care, chronic disease management, and early intervention for high-risk individuals, enabled by digital health solutions and shared protocols to enhance the responsiveness and connectivity of care. Working together with community partners across the health, social and related sectors, SingHealth and its partners co-design and co-produce solutions, ensuring they are holistic, accessible and grounded in real-world needs.

Through coordinated and targeted interventions, the multidisciplinary Healthier SG teams have demonstrated early improvements in terms of healthcare utilisation reduction and chronic disease management.

ANNEX C

Harnessing Technology to Co-create Innovative Care Solutions for Seniors

At the SingHealth Community Forum 2026, several examples of innovative care solutions for seniors that leveraged technology were showcased:

1. SCREENii: Bringing Pre-Frailty Screening into the Community

SCREENii is a portable tool that measures walking speed and handgrip strength quickly and accurately. It was developed by Singapore General Hospital and the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, with support from Sengkang General Hospital and the SingHealth Centre for Population Health Research and Implementation. By making gait speed and handgrip strength assessment practical outside the hospital, SCREENii enables objective pre-frailty and sarcopenia screening in the community at the population level. SCREENii is testament to how innovation and technology can improve community health and wellbeing.

2. SilverPad: Supporting Senior Cognitive Health through Gaming

As part of the IMPRESS-MIND2S initiative funded under the Ministry of Health’s National Innovation Challenge, the six-month programme involves having seniors play an hour of games weekly on a tablet (SilverPad) with clinically structured digital games specially designed to support cognitive health.

Researchers from the SingHealth Centre for Population Health Research and Implementation worked with occupational therapists and psychologists from Changi General Hospital as part of its Community Psychogeriatric Programme, and Dementia Singapore to enhance the games developed by SilverActivities for seniors. The tablet includes over 100 ad-free games grounded in local contexts, with large buttons, clear instructions and local language options, with weekly sessions designed to target specific cognitive domains such as attention, processing speed, memory and executive function. Feedback from the pilot has been positive, with participants sharing that the sessions have helped improve their memory and encourage active thinking.

 

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