First mentioned by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Mr Heng Swee Keat in 2021, the national Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and Response (PREPARE) was officially launched by the Ministry of Health today.
“The COVID-19 pandemic exemplified how science and research can be harnessed to support public health responses,” said Health Minister Mr Ong Ye Kung at the launch. “With the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are things we need to do, to further enhance our preparedness against future infectious disease outbreaks. PREPARE will be one of the key initiatives.”
The programme, which has S$100 million in research funding over five years, is helmed by Duke-NUS Professor Wang Linfa as its executive director and will focus on building Singapore’s preparedness against future outbreaks. The new programme’s immediate task is to work with the Ministry to develop a national epidemic research and development programme.