Singapore reinforces Communicable Diseases Agency with staff changes
By Amit Roy Choudhury
Relevant departments and staff from the Ministry of Health, Health Promotion Board and Tan Tock Seng Hospital will move to the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) from April 1.
The Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) will centralise expertise in infectious disease management into one agency for a more coordinated and efficient response to disease outbreaks. Image: Canva.
Coming April 1, staff from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), who work in areas related to infectious disease management, will be transferred to the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA).
CDA is a new statutory board set up by MOH to consolidate public health functions for the detection, prevention and control of infectious diseases – which were previously distributed under MOH headquarters, HPB, and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
The statutory board’s CEO will be Professor Vernon Lee, who will relinquish his current role as Executive Director of NCID.
MOH said Professor Lee brings more than two decades of experience in public health policy and infectious disease management to CDA.
He has made significant contributions to Singapore's public health and global health initiatives. Professor Lee was involved in the response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, the 2009 influenza pandemic, the Zika outbreak in 2016, and more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic.
HSEU members to be transferred to AUPE
Singapore’s largest public sector union, the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE), told GovInsider that as part of this transition, affected employees who are currently under the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) will be able to transfer to AUPE.
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AUPE General Secretary, Sanjeev Tiwari, said the union was working closely with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), HSEU and CDA management to strengthen labour-management relations, and for a smooth transition for the affected staff members.
AUPE will support them during this period of change to ensure that they receive the necessary assistance and guidance as they move into their new roles within the CDA, Tiwari added.
He said the formation of the CDA reflected Singapore’s proactive and pre-emptive approach to combating communicable diseases and enhancing public health capabilities.
By centralising efforts and expertise, the agency is expected to provide a more coordinated and efficient response to disease outbreaks, safeguarding the nation's well-being.
For employees making the transition, AUPE will continue to engage with them to ensure a seamless shift and uphold their rights and interests as they embark on this new journey with the CDA, Tiwari said.
CDA to focus on five key areas
According to MOH, the CDA will focus on five key areas. One of them is to prevent disease spread through public education, vaccination policies, and infection prevention and control measures.
Another area of focus will be leading and coordinating public health preparedness efforts by working with various stakeholders to build sectoral readiness against infectious disease crises and safeguard national interests such as vaccine and therapeutics development and access.
Recognising that early detection was key to controlling the spread, CDA will strengthen surveillance capabilities, including exploring the use of new modalities of surveillance to supplement traditional surveillance approaches.
The agency will also explore data analytics and artificial intelligence to enhance its ability to make sense of large volumes of data, MOH said.
The agency will also be mandated to investigate and respond to cases and outbreaks of infectious diseases, provide policy and scientific recommendations, and implement public health and social measures during a pandemic.
CDA will conduct and coordinate public health research, translating findings into actionable policies.
Additionally, CDA will engage in international cooperation to stay abreast of global developments, share best practices, and enable swift responses to evolving disease situations worldwide.
The formation of CDA will allow the government to quickly respond to disease outbreaks as one concerted public health effort and play a pivotal role in safeguarding Singapore from infectious disease threats, MOH said.