Singapore and the United Arab Emirates are set to extend and deepen cooperation on medical issues, following a series of high-level government meetings held in Dubai this week.
Dr. Balaji Sadasivan, the Senior Minister of State for Health of the Republic of Singapore, met with officials from the Department of Health and Medical Services (DoHMS) and Dubai Healthcare City, to examine the potential for launching joint projects with both local and Singaporean medical expertise.
Ranked by the World Health Organization as having the best health system in Asia – ahead of Japan and the US – the Southeast Asian nation offers specialized healthcare treatments and superb healthcare facilities, most of which are internationally accredited by the Joint Commission International. In 2003, an independent survey published by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, revealed that expatriates in Asia had rated Singapore healthcare system third in the world, behind the United States and Australia.
“We have enjoyed a friendly relationship with the United Arab Emirates for many years. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is currently in Abu Dhabi after previously visiting Dubai in November 2005, underscoring our commitment for greater co-operation at all levels. Singapore and the United Arab Emirates are currently exploring new avenues for knowledge exchange and sharing expertise in areas of mutual benefit,” says Dr. Sadasivan.
Singapore is Asia’s leading destination for international medical services. In 2004, more than 320,000 international patients traveled there for a whole range of medical care, including health screening, eye, heart and brain surgery, and cancer treatment.
Over the past five years, Singapore has become a destination of choice for residents of the UAE seeking treatment abroad. One of the reasons for its increasing popularity is the availability of services which only a few countries specialize in, such as stem cell transplants and advanced robotic surgery.
For example, the Haematology Department at Singapore General Hospital has been at the forefront of treatment for a variety of blood disorders since it carried out its first haematopoeitic stem cell transplant 20 years ago. Since then, doctors have carried out more than 700 such transplants at the centre, including the world’s first successful peripheral blood stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor on a five-year-old Malaysian child in 1995.
“We have seen an increasing number of patients from the Middle East seeking healthcare in Singapore attracted by our cutting edge technology, quality treatment and safe blood supply and we feel that it would be highly beneficial to share some of our expertise with facilities in the region. At the same time, we are extremely impressed at the scale and vision of the plans for an advanced health service being developed within the United Arab Emirates,” said Dr. Sadasivan.
In addition to the government meetings, a group of Singaporean healthcare providers is participating in Arab Health 2006 under the SingaporeMedicine pavilion.
About SingaporeMedicine
SingaporeMedicine is a multi-agency government initiative which aims to develop and promote Singapore as a medical hub, and to make Singapore’s world-class healthcare services easily accessible to international patients. The initiative is driven by the Economic Development Board, Singapore Tourism Board and International Enterprise Singapore, with support from the Ministry of Health, Singapore.
SingaporeMedicine’s Participation in Arab Health
Visitors to Arab Health will be able to learn first-hand how Singapore and its companies can play a vital role in advancing the global healthcare community. The SingaporeMedicine Pavilion will highlight the healthcare value chain, connecting the medical community in the Middle East to a value-added one-stop healthcare solution. Participants at the SingaporeMedicine pavilion will include companies providing medical services (SingHealth, NHG Gulf, Parkway Group Healthcare and Susan Lim Surgery); consultancy/training and medical equipment/products (Health Management International, Neotec, Eu Yan Sang and Leung Kai Fook Medical Company); and IT health solutions (MatrixView).
